Deputies detain man suspected of arson
A 48-year-old Hesperia is being detained at the sheriff's Victor Valley Jail on suspicion of starting a vegetation fire on Highway 173 in an unincorporated area of Hesperia, then fleeing on a motorcycle.
An infrared camera mounted to the bottom of a sheriff's helicopter flying over the area the man was suspected to have fled was credited for leading deputies to the man, who was holed up in his home on Highway 173, sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said.
The man is not being named because he has not been arrested.
About 9:20 p.m., the California Highway Patrol received a call from someone reporting a brush fire on Highway 173, north of Highway 138 and south of the Mojave Forks Campground. CHP officers arrived to find several people attempting to douse the flames. They said they saw a man crouched on the ground and starting a fire, then flee on a red motorcycle, Beavers said.
Deputies searched the area and found the man inside his home. It was unclear if anyone else lived with him at the residence.
The sheriff's arson/bomb unit investigated, but no information was divulged about any evidence that may have been found.
Beavers said it was too soon to say if the incident is connected to the Grass Valley and Slide fires burning in the mountains.
"There hasn't been any discussion of any cause of the Grass Valley and Slide fires," said Beavers, "It's definitely too early in this investigation to say if there's any possibilities of a connection with anything else."
Joe Nelson, joe.nelson@sbsun.com