Lawn mower to blame for California fire. Bay Area man accused of sparking Shasta County blaze
A Bay Area man is accused by firefighters of sparking a small wildfire in Shasta County this month by using a lawn mower amid red flag conditions, Cal Fire said.
Qingguo Meng, 59, a resident of Milpitas in Santa Clara County, was arrested on suspicion of igniting the Hidden Fire on forest land and was briefly detained in Shasta County jail, according to a Cal Fire news release Wednesday morning.
In their announcement, Cal Fire said the Hidden Fire sparked June 16 on the 14000 block of Bear Mountain Road in Jones Valley, 15 miles northeast of Redding.
“Upon arrival, fire units discovered two men attempting to extinguish the vegetation fire and protect a nearby residence,” Cal Fire’s Shasta unit, which manages the county’s fire department, said. “One of the men was affiliated with the property, while the other was a good Samaritan passing by that stopped to help.”
Firefighters identified Meng as the man connected to the property and said he was using a lawnmower “during red flag conditions,” which they blamed for the cause of the blaze. The fire came as most of the northern Sacramento Valley was under its first red flag warning of the season. The National Weather Service advisory alerts residents to dry, hot conditions that can lead to fast-moving fires.
It’s unclear when Meng will face arraignment, according to court records. The fire charred 45 acres before firefighters were able to stop the flames’ forward progress. Several evacuations were issued for the fire, but no structures were damaged and no injuries were reported.
Jas Shaw, a spokesperson for Cal Fire SHU, said Meng was “associated” but not living on the property at the time of the fire and had been doing yard work for the owner.
The region has been plagued by out-of-towners who authorities say are responsible for sparking wildfires.
A former criminal justice professor was sentenced in May to more than five years in prison for setting at least seven fires in 2021 during a year featuring some of California’s most destructive wildfires. A jury convicted Gary Stephen Maynard, 49, of three counts of arson, which included two fires in nearby Siskiyou County.
But another Santa Clara County resident was accused of starting a wildfire in Shasta County in 2021. A Bay Area yoga instructor and self-described shaman was accused of starting a destructive blaze near Redding. Alexandra Souverneva, of Palo Alto, was deemed fit to stand trial after spending several weeks in state hospital custody. A trial-setting date for Souverneva was expected July 16.
