One Wildfire In 2020 s LNU Complex Believed to Have Been Arson to Cover Up Murder
One of last August s wildfires that merged with others to become the LNU Lightning Complex fires is now believed to have been the result of arson and the culprit, according to the Solano County Sheriff s Office, is a 29-year-old man who likely set the blaze to cover up an earlier murder.
The Markley Fire, which broke out on August 17 near Monticello Dam, had an origin point very close to where authorities later discovered the body of 32-year-old Priscilla Castro, on September 2. On Wednesday, a 29-year-old Vacaville man, Victor Serriteno, was arrested and charged with Castro s murder following an eight-month investigation, as the Associated Press reports.
Burn it first. That deprives wildfires of the fuel they need to grow big and dangerous
Julie Johnson
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Good Fire Alliance volunteers Joe Plaugher (left) and Devyn Friedfel start a prescribed burn in dry brush in Healdsburg.Alvin A.H. Jornada / Special to The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Barb Stuckey watches from her deck as crews strategically set fire to thick vegetation on her 10-acre property along Chemise Road in Healdsburg.Photos by Alvin A.H. Jornada / Special to The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Healdsburg firefighter Hector Madrigal keeps flames at bay as they approach Barb Stuckey’s home during a preventative vegetation burn in Healdsburg.Alvin A.H. Jornada / Special to The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
California braces for extreme 2021 wildfire season - it s very dry out there
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Remnants of the CZU fire borders untouched land near Pine Flat Road and Bonny Doon Road in Santa Cruz.LiPo Ching / Special to The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Cal Fire Santa Cruz and San Mateo Unit firefighters Donny Rippberger (left) and Ludovic Deshayes practice at the Cal Fire Ben Lomand Training Center in Santa Cruz.LiPo Ching / Special to The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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A home along Highway 236 near Boulder Creek smolders after being destroyed in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in August.Nic Coury / Special to The Chronicle 2020Show MoreShow Less
April 5, 2021
Chair of the Board of Supervisors Lynda Hopkins is accusing Sheriff Mark Essick of harassment and bullying.
Supervisor Hopkins alleged the incident occurred last August during a phone call in the midst of the Walbridge Fire. She tells the Press Democrat she asked the Sheriff questions regarding her constituents accessing their animals in the evacuation zones when she was met with hostility and what she felt was a threat. An investigation has been conducted by County counsel but Sheriff Essick has sued to keep its results private claiming he’s protected by the same laws giving privacy to most misconduct investigations into peace officers. A temporary restraining order has been placed forbidding the release of the investigation’s findings until a court hears the case.