Authorities believe a wildfire in Northern California was sparked by the exhaust from a truck driven by a man delivering supplies to an illegal marijuana plot, according to Reuters.
Freddie Alexander Smoke III, 27, of Sacramento was arrested Saturday for investigation of recklessly causing a fire and illegally cultivating marijuana, according to the California Department of Fire and Forestry Protection, Reuters reported.
Officers arrested the Sacramento resident on Friday on felony charges of recklessly starting a fire and illegal marijuana cultivation, CAL FIRE spokesman Daniel Berlant said, according to Reuters.
The fire has burned 6 square miles, or 4,000 acres, of forested land in Shasta County and destroyed destroyed 18 structures, CalFire officials said, according to Reuters. The fire, burning in steep terrain, was just 15 percent contained Sunday morning.
More than 1,700 firefighters, aided by aircraft, battled the blaze in hot, dry conditions, Reuters reported. The wildfire had prompted evacuations and road closures, but CalFire said all residents have been allowed to return home.
In Solano County, a grass fire prompted evacuations in Fairfield and temporarily shut down Highway 12 in both directions, and by 4 p.m. residents were allowed back to their homes and most lanes had reopened, officials said, according to Reuters.
In Central California, firefighters made gains and contained 55 percent of a wildfire that burned more than 2 square miles of remote wilderness in the Sequoia National Forest, according to the U.S. Forest Service, Reuters reported.
The forest where the fire started is south of and separate from the Sequoia National Park east of Fresno, which is famous for its giant Sequoia trees, according to Reuters.
The fire, which has caused at least $1 million in damage and fire fighting costs, is only 10 percent contained, Berlant said, Reuters reported.
"There's still a lot of potential that this fire could grow," Berlant said, according to Reuters. Some 180 marijuana plants were seized from the pot farm after the fire started, but Berlant did not know if the fire had burned down the grow operation.
