Michael Jarrod Bakkela, 41, has been accused of arson, partially sparking the massive Almeda fire, according to the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office. Oregon Live reported that he has been arrested on "two counts of arson, 15 counts of criminal mischief and 14 counts of reckless endangerment":
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Friday afternoon that on Tuesday evening, a resident of Phoenix saw a person, later identified as Bakkela, lighting a fire behind their house on Quail Lane. Because there was an impending blaze, the residents who saw him set the fire had to flee their home.
(...)
Bakkela was arrested and initially lodged in the Jackson County Jail on Tuesday on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. He remains in jail on the arson and criminal mischief charges.
Comment: This after the FBI said that reports of extremists starting the fires in Oregon were untrue. Why are arrests happening if the fires aren't the result of arson?
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