Police have arrested a 20-year-old Lancaster man in connection with a brush fire near Santa Clarita that grew to 50 acres and burned an outbuilding at a paintball course, authorities said Friday.
Fire officials said the blaze was sparked Thursday afternoon around 1:40 p.m. when someone at a paintball facility in the area set off a smoke canister. The fire, in the 23900 block of The Old Road near Towsley Canyon Road, threatened several other structures and resulted in evacuations, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
On Friday, the fire was 80 percent contained, and its forward progress had been stopped.
Deputies detained Zachary Garcia of Lancaster at the scene and later arrested him on suspicion of recklessly causing a brush fire, a misdemeanor, said Shirley Miller of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
Witnesses observed a man — believed to be Garcia — at the Field of Fire Paintball Adventures on Old Road in Newhall allegedly setting off a smoke canister while playing paintball, Miller said.
“This canister ignited a brush fire,” Miller said. “It just got out of control.”
Garcia was being held in lieu of a $5,000 bond, but it was not immediately clear on Friday when he would appear in court.
Paintball players use smoke canisters, also called smoke bombs, to conceal their movements on a paintball course so other players can’t find them, said Glenn Forster, owner of Warped Paintball Park in Castaic and Moorpark. Most paintball parks in Southern California don’t allow the canisters, specifically because of the fire danger, but they are popular on the East Coast, Forster said.
Micki Grise, an administrator at the Field of Fire Paintball Adventures where the fire began, said any kind of smoke bombs are banned at that facility.
“That’s not allowed,” Grise said. “We don’t allow alcohol or drugs, but some people drink anyway. … I don’t understand it.”
By Thursday night, the fire had grown from a few acres to 20 and was 60 percent contained. Roads were closed in the area, snarling Thursday evening commutes. The paintball facility and a nearby U.S. Post Office were evacuated, but both reopened Friday.
Inspector Richard Licon said he was hopeful the fire could be contained Friday evening, but Fire Department patrols would likely be working in the area today “just in case.” Licon said 120 fire personnel were conducting “mop up” operations on Friday.
Detective Alex Miller, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Arson/Explosives Detail, said the use of smoke bombs isn’t illegal, but “it’s the manner in which they’re used.”
Miller compared the use of smoke bombs to someone building a camp fire in an area with high winds and dry brush without taking “proper precautions,” such as clearing brush or having water handy.
“If you’re in a dry field in a high wind shooting paintballs and throwing these hot, burning smoke (bombs) … a logical, reasonable person would conclude it’s dangerous to do so,” Miller said.
No injuries have been reported related to the fire.
City News Service and staff writer Dana Bartholomew contributed to this report.