[symple_googlemap title=”Newhall Pass suspect” location=”23900 block of The Old Road, Santa Clarita, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”16″]
A 20-year-old man was in custody Friday on suspicion of recklessly starting a fire at a paintball park that scorched about 50 acres of brush and destroyed an outbuilding.
The three-alarm blaze, which also threatened several other structures and prompted some evacuations, broke out about 1:40 p.m. Thursday in the 23900 block of The Old Road, near Towsley Canyon Road, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. As of late Friday morning, the fire was about 40 percent contained, and about 120 firefighting personnel were deployed at the scene.
Zachary Garcia of Lancaster was detained by deputies at the scene and arrested on suspicion of recklessly causing a fire by setting off a smoke canister during a paintball game, said Shirley Miller of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
He was being held in lieu of a $5,000 bond, and was scheduled to appear in court in Newhall some time Friday.
The fire forced the closure of The Old Road and led to the evacuation of the paintball facility, a U.S. Post Office and a church, but no injuries were reported, according to the sheriff’s department.
The fire also caused traffic to slow on the nearby Golden State (5) Freeway in both directions, but no lanes were closed.
—City News Service