Authorities arrested a 26-year-old man in California who they say admitted to throwing a firework out of his car window that sparked a wildfire that blazed through thousands of acres in July.
The Butte County District Attorney’s Office said Spencer Grant Anderson of Oroville has been charged with multiple counts of arson in connection with the Thompson Fire, and is being held in the Butte County Jail.
Anderson’s arrest comes after a 50-day investigation into the destructive Thompson Fire, officials said.
The wildfire started on the morning of July 2 on Cherokee Road just outside the city of Oroville in Northern California. Red flag conditions — 100 degrees, low humidity, high winds — quickly spread the flames a quarter-mile across the Thermalito Diversion Pool and the face of Table Mountain.
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The blaze prompted evacuations in Oroville and destroyed dozens of structures within eight hours of it starting, officials said. It ultimately burned over 3,700 acres before it was fully contained.
While firefighters attacked the flames, CalFire investigators pinpointed its origin on Cherokee Road. Officials said they were able to rule out weather, mechanical and utility causes, which led them to believe it was arson.
Interviews with witnesses helped investigators find out that a Toyota sedan driven by an unknown man was spotted in the area around the same time the fire began, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office. License plate readers in Oroville led investigators to Anderson.
Officials said that while investigators built the criminal case and collected evidence, four to six other investigators from around the state watched Anderson 24/7 to make sure another fire wasn’t started.
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After getting enough evidence to serve warrants, investigators brought Anderson in and questioned him. Officials said that’s when he admitted to buying fireworks from a fireworks stand and “testing one” by throwing it out of his car window on Cherokee Road.
If Anderson is convicted, he could face decades in a state prison.
