A 26-year-old California man was arrested last week on arson charges in connection with the Thompson fire in July, which destroyed 13 homes, burned over 3,700 acres and forced the evacuation of 26,000 people, according to the law enforcement agencies.
The man, Spencer Grant Anderson, who was taken into custody on Aug. 22, was arraigned on Monday and is being held without bail in Butte County Jail.
The Thompson fire began on July 2 when Mr. Anderson threw a “flaming object” out the window of a car he was driving just north of Oroville, where he lives, according to a news release issued Monday by the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.
On the day the fire began, investigators with Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting agency, pinpointed where the fire had originated and learned from 911 callers and witnesses that a Toyota sedan had been spotted there at the time, the prosecutor’s office said.
The next day, they found the Toyota and identified Mr. Anderson as the driver and potential arsonist, according to the release.
Investigators monitored and investigated Mr. Anderson for 50 days before arresting him, prosecutors said.
After his arrest, Mr. Anderson admitted that he had purchased fireworks from a stand in Oroville and tested one by throwing it out of his car window, according to the release.
District Attorney Mike Ramsey did not immediately return a phone message on Monday seeking comment.
Mr. Anderson is charged with arson of an inhabited structure, arson of forest land, and arson causing multiple structures to burn.
“It was a long investigation, there was a lot moving parts to it,” Larry Pilgrim, Mr. Anderson’s attorney, said to The New York Times on Monday. “He is just being accused at this point.”
He added that “it’s too early to pass judgment.”
If convicted on all charges, Mr. Anderson could face more than 21 years in prison, prosecutors said. He has a previous felony conviction related to domestic violence, according to the news release from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office, which it said could double the punishment of any possible arson conviction.