How Do Investigators Find Causes Of Wildfires And Possible Arson Suspects?
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Investigators are confident Wayne Huntsman is the person who saw the very first spark from the massive King Fire. That's because they alleged the 37-year-old intentionally set the massive blaze.
While Cal Fire didn't want to give us specifics on the case, they are providing us with insight into how its investigators determine the cause of a fire and then, when needed, zero in on a suspect.
It can be a long process.
The first thing they do is rule out causes, including railroad tracks, power lines and campfire rings.
Once it's found to be arson, investigators start digging—literally—gathering physical evidence, and they start to talk to anyone who might know anything about how it started and who may have
sparked the flames.
"Our investigators are going to look for signs on the ground they're gonna look anyone in the area who may have seen something, may have heard something," said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant.
Because just like in other criminal cases, suspects tend to brag about what they did.
In the King Fire investigation, officials say they arrested Huntsman after interviewing a number of people, developing leads fairly quickly.
"Obviously our investigators were confident in the signs and signals to point to the single individual who we believed sparked this fire," Berlant said.
Investigators will be the first to tell you they caught a break with the King Fire. Many arsons don't turn up a suspect. One big local fire that comes to mind, the 49 Fire in Auburn more than 5 years ago, where no one has been arrested.
