A 23-year-old man was arrested on Friday, July 19, after several brush fires broke out in Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park, the Riverside Fire Department said.
The man was booked on five felony counts of arson of a structure or forest land, according to the Riverside County jail log. The man was released Saturday after posting $35,000 bail.
The Fire Department said in a news release that the man confessed to setting the fires. Capt. Ray Mendoza, the department’s lead arson investigator, cited the ongoing investigation and declined to say whether the man explained a motive.
The fires were reported at 6:53 a.m. and were brought under control by 11:46 a.m.
“Firefighters hiked into the area of the fire burning in heavy annual grasses and located at a minimum five fires burning,” the release said. “A fire captain located an adult male that admitted to starting the fires.”
In all, less than an acre burned. No injuries were reported.
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