LadyFF13
08-28-2002, 11:45 PM
Don't care what the headline says, this disturbed kid was no firefighter. IMHO you lose the right to that title as soon as you light the match.
Firefighter Charged With Starting Five San Diego County Fires
By SETH HETTENA
The Associated Press
8/28/02 6:47 PM
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A 19-year-old firefighter with the California Conservation Corps was charged with starting five fires that destroyed two homes and prompted 200 people to evacuate their neighborhoods.
Jonathan Patrick Klausen, a firefighter specialist with the Corps, which enlists young people to fight fires and perform other environmental work, was arrested Tuesday night on five counts of arson.
He was being held Wednesday on $250,000 bond.
The fires broke out early Tuesday near Julian, a town about 40 miles northeast of San Diego that had fought off a 62,000-acre wildfire less than a month ago.
The largest arson fire, which was fully contained but still burning Wednesday, charred 275 acres and destroyed two homes and five other structures. The other fires were contained Tuesday. The fires had prompted 200 people to evacuate the remote, mountainous area for several hours.
Local residents had seen someone acting suspiciously in the area before the fires, according to the California Department of Forestry.
"Our investigators used this information to track down a vehicle and from there they figured out who did it," said Roxanne Provaznik, a department spokeswoman.
Wes Pratt, director of the California Conservation Corps, said the agency was saddened by the arrest and stressed that it is rare for one of its firefighters to commit arson.
A larger fire began near Julian on July 29, when a National Guard helicopter looking for marijuana plants clipped a power line. That fire destroyed 37 homes, 116 other buildings and 169 vehicles.
Firefighter Charged With Starting Five San Diego County Fires
By SETH HETTENA
The Associated Press
8/28/02 6:47 PM
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A 19-year-old firefighter with the California Conservation Corps was charged with starting five fires that destroyed two homes and prompted 200 people to evacuate their neighborhoods.
Jonathan Patrick Klausen, a firefighter specialist with the Corps, which enlists young people to fight fires and perform other environmental work, was arrested Tuesday night on five counts of arson.
He was being held Wednesday on $250,000 bond.
The fires broke out early Tuesday near Julian, a town about 40 miles northeast of San Diego that had fought off a 62,000-acre wildfire less than a month ago.
The largest arson fire, which was fully contained but still burning Wednesday, charred 275 acres and destroyed two homes and five other structures. The other fires were contained Tuesday. The fires had prompted 200 people to evacuate the remote, mountainous area for several hours.
Local residents had seen someone acting suspiciously in the area before the fires, according to the California Department of Forestry.
"Our investigators used this information to track down a vehicle and from there they figured out who did it," said Roxanne Provaznik, a department spokeswoman.
Wes Pratt, director of the California Conservation Corps, said the agency was saddened by the arrest and stressed that it is rare for one of its firefighters to commit arson.
A larger fire began near Julian on July 29, when a National Guard helicopter looking for marijuana plants clipped a power line. That fire destroyed 37 homes, 116 other buildings and 169 vehicles.