By Patric Hedlund, TME

It takes only a simple vehicle accident, one downed power line or a crazed arsonist to destroy a town that has no fire station.
— Jeff Zimmerman, Neenach

Early Tuesday evening, July 19 neighbors in Neenach noticed smoke. At 7:17 p.m. Joanne Childers Word posted a photo online of smoke on the horizon. Jeff Zimmerman, a former San Luis Obispo firefighter who retired to build a three-story house facing Highway 138, jumped in his truck to drive toward the source of the smoke.

As he approached, Zimmerman was contacting the L.A. County Fire Department to report a wildfire at…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

An arsonist was setting the grass on fire, screaming ‘Spot Fires!’ at the top of his lungs and running through the flames, witness Jeff Zimmerman reported July 19.

Early Tuesday evening the smell of smoke began to fill the air. This shirtless man was discovered setting fires and running through them. The man was arrested by L.A. County Sheriffs after about 10 acres had burned.

L.A. County’s Engine 77 from Gorman arrived to find about 10 acres of blazing grass. A man with no shirt ran through the fire.

The man was seen lighting fires and rolling in the dry grass before firefighters and paramedics from Gorman’s Station 77 arrived. They worked with sheriff’s deputies to subdue the arsonist, check him for injuries and take him into custody. His mother said he has a drug problem.

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This is part of the July 22, 2016 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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