Arson suspect arrested in Southern California's Cranston Fire

Colin Atagi , Geraldine Estevez | The Desert Sun

Show Caption Hide Caption Thousands of acres burned in Cranston Fire A wildfire has burned through thousands of acres and caused mandatory evacuations in the Idyllwild area of the San Jacinto Mountains on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.

IDYLLWILD, Calif. – A suspect in a fast-moving fire east of Los Angeles was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of arson after fires forced the mandatory evacuation of Idlyllwild and other parts of the San Jacinto Mountains, home to about 12,000 people.

The fast-growing Cranston Fire in southwest Riverside County, grew to 4,700 acres, or 7.3 square miles, Wednesday. The fire was 5 percent contained as of late Wednesday night.

Brandon N. McGlover, 32, of Temecula, California, was arrested on suspicion of five counts of arson. He was being held on $1 million bail, accused of setting the Cranston Fire and other fires in southwest Riverside County, officials said.

According to jail records, he was being held at the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, California, and is expected to appear in court Friday morning.

Officials announced McGlover's arrest Wednesday night, hours after the Cranston Fire began.

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The fire was the largest of at least five that police believe were purposely set Wednesday by a man whose car was reportedly spotted at the starting point of the blaze in Riverside County, officials said.

According to a U.S. Forest Service-San Bernardino National Forest news release, fire investigators from the forest service and from CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department, as well as law enforcement personnel from several police agencies, responded to a series of wildland fires Wednesday afternoon "in several areas within southwest Riverside County and federal areas along Highway 74 in the national forest."

McGlover was stopped and detained by a member of the Hemet/San Jacinto Valley Gang Task Force, said Hemet police Lt. Eric Dickson.

He said law enforcement personnel received an alert to be on the lookout for a white Honda sedan that was being driven by someone who may have started a fire.

The Cranston Fire was reported about noon off Highway 74 in an area between Hemet and Mountain Center. The highway was quickly closed to traffic.

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By 9 p.m., it had scorched more than 7 square miles, destroyed five homes, threatened hundreds of other residences, authorities said.

Officials anticipated the blaze would spread to a number of mountain communities including, Idyllwild, Mountain Center and Lake Hemet.

As a result, residents and campers were instructed to evacuate immediately.

National forest officials said more than 700 fire personnel were involved in fighting the blaze.

The fire in the San Bernardino National Forest sent up a cloud 50,000 feet high that was so enormous it created its own weather in the form of lightning, the National Weather Service reported.

Throughout the day, helicopters and planes dumped water and fire retardant that turned swathes of land and homes pink. Fire engines also were stationed to protect homes.

Danny White, of Idyllwild, said he saw flames "coming over the ridge outside my house."

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"It was just me and my dogs. I was on the roof of my house, and there were probably, I would say 15 police cars riding through the streets and they're speaking on the intercom, telling everyone to leave." White hasn't had any brushes with wildfires before and described it as "scary."

Idyllwild School Principal Matt Kraemer said 16 school buses were on hand to help residents evacuate, but he said "they might have to be moved."

"The fire is coming that way," he said.

Although Kraemer lives in the area, his home was away from the fire's path and he was mostly concerned about the school, which has a student body of 330.

"The school is in jeopardy," he said.

Jeff Campbell sat at the corner of highways 74 and 243 while the fire burned closer and closer to his home less than a mile away. He was with his wife and two dogs, but he was convinced he'd lost his 4,000-square-foot log cabin he spent 10 years building.

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Campbell later returned to his street and was relieved to find his home was intact. However, flames destroyed his 1978 Dodge pickup, a boat and a pile of wood.

His neighbor's home was destroyed, he said.

Flames weren't actively burning, but Campbell said he knew he wasn't out of the woods.

"I need to have the wind die down," he said.

The last time the area burned was about five years ago, when the Mountain Fire raged through.

The fire is one of several across California amid a heat wave that has seen days of triple-digit temperatures.

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To the north, in the San Francisco Bay Area, at least one home burned in a fast-moving blaze in Clayton, where houses are spread out around windy roads.

Yosemite Valley, the scenic heart of the national park, was closed at noon Wednesday during the height of tourist season as smoke cast a pall on the region from a fire in the Sierra Nevada. The closure was heartbreaking for travelers, many of whom mapped out their trips months in advance to hike and climb amid the spectacular views of cascading waterfalls and sheer rock faces.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Colin Atagi and Geraldine Estevez on Twitter: @TDSColinAtagi and @TheWriteWoman