Two people suspected of starting a non-injury fire that burned about a quarter-acre of brush near Morris Dam, off San Gabriel Canyon Road, north of Glendora, were charged Thursday with arson.
Christopher Paul Ortega, 20, of Glendora, and Santino Francisco Gnaulati, 21, of Covina, both pleaded not guilty to the felony count of arson of a structure or forest.
They are due back in court Aug. 29 in West Covina.
The fire was reported by a passerby just before 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to Nathan Judy of the U.S. Forest Service.
“Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze … using ground crews and night flying helicopters from the Forest (Service) and L.A. County,” Judy said.
The person who reported the fire saw two people in a turnout near Morris Dam and followed their white GMC pickup truck, noting its license place number and with assistance from Azusa police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the vehicle was located and two suspects were arrested, according to the Forest Service.
Ortega and Gnaulati each face up to six years in prison if convicted.