Suspect In Boles Fire Was Allegedly Targeting His Former Apartment Complex
WEED, Calif. (CBS13) - The man accused of starting the fire in the Siskiyou County town of Weed that destroyed 150 structures – 100 of them homes -- had a specific target in mind.
Prosecutors say 24-year-old Ronald Beau Marshall, of Weed, once lived at the complex.
The Boles Fire burned more than 150 homes on September 15. Fanned by 40 mph flames, it spread into town where it quickly devoured a hillside neighborhood. The flames destroyed or damaged 150 structures, including 100 homes, the saw mill and a church. At times, the fire moved so fast that residents had only a few minutes to get out of the way.
Marshall pleaded not guilty to charges of Arson of an Inhabited Structure or Property, Arson of a Structure or Forest, and Arson of Property of Another, according to KSHL-TV. He sits in jail with bail set at $2.5 million.
He was arrested on Saturday after a joint investigation between Weed Police Department, Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department and CAL FIRE, according to CAL FIRE.
Weed police say Marshall had been a person of interest throughout the investigation, the station reports.
Weed and the forest that surrounds it were like a tinderbox after three years of severe drought. And Weed's winds are notorious. The steady breezes were what attracted town founder Abner Weed to build his lumber business there in 1897, after he realized that wood dried more quickly when fanned by nature.
Related Stories
