Cops: 2 Teens Tried to Set Fresh Calif. Fires

As wildfires continue to rage across San Diego County
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 16, 2014 11:46 AM CDT
2 Teens Arrested in California Wildfires
Jeff Buchanan waters the scorched earth around a neighbor's house that burned to the ground during a wildfire Thursday in Escondido, Calif.   (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Firefighters are still trying to contain several wildfires consuming San Diego County, and two teenagers have been arrested and accused of trying to make things a lot worse. Police nabbed two males, ages 19 and 17, who are suspected of trying to set two brush fires in Escondido, reports the Los Angeles Times. A witness who saw them start one fire off a main boulevard extinguished it and called police, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. Soon after, another witness did the same at a local park. Officers then caught the suspects outside a mall.

Police haven't connected the pair to the wildfires that have scorched the region and forced thousands of evacuations. The AP reports that some of those evacuations were lifted this morning, as firefighters hoped cooler temperatures would help their cause. Meanwhile, the first potential fatality has been reported: Authorities found a burned body at a transient camp in Carlsbad. (More California wildfires stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X