Eric Michael Smith set 11 fires in 2019 and 2020 using 'hard to detect' sources like cigarette lighters and handheld torches, prosecutors said.
A park ranger was flagged down by a person who found eight Molotov cocktails in a wooded area next to a trail, authorities said.Many of the fires were knocked down quickly at less than an acre in size, although one set in July 2020 closed a portion of Interstate 5.
The investigation into Smith began when authorities began tracking a vehicle believed to have been used in arson in June 2020, according to an affidavit. When Smith was identified as a suspect, he was found to also be a person of interest in a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection investigation into an August 2019 blaze that burned 600 acres and destroyed several structures.
Investigators tracked Smith for several weeks, during which time he reportedly set multiple fires and left abandoned campfires burning near vegetation.
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