Arsonist, Dressed As Fireman, Drove Real Fire Truck To Sneak Into Evacuation Zone: LASD

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — Armed with firefighter safety gear, radios — and even an actual firetruck — a convicted arsonist and his wife were arrested over the weekend after being caught pretending to be firefighters within the Palisades Fire evacuation zone, authorities said.

The man, 31-year-old Dustin Nehl of Oregon, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2017 following what authorities called a multi-year "reign of criminal activity" around his hometown that included arson, setting off an explosion and damaging water infrastructure, the Woodburn Independent reported at the time.

On Saturday, a firefighter in or around a Palisades Fire road checkpoint area saw two people riding in a fire truck they believed was illegitimate attempting to enter the evacuation area, which is off limits to those without authorization, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The driver had told National Guard troops manning the perimeter that he was a volunteer firefighter, the Los Angeles Times reported. Nehl and his wife, Jennifer Nehl, were in the truck.

The truck's insignia, and its occupants, identified it as being from the "Roaring River Fire Department" in Oregon. That agency does not exist, deputies said.

The truck's occupants were wearing firefighter turnout gear with Cal Fire T-shirts underneath. They also carried helmets and radios that were tuned to frequencies used by departments fighting the Palisades Fire, the Times reported.

The pair admitted they were able to gain access to the evacuation zone the day before they were caught, deputies said.

The Nehls were arrested on suspicion of impersonating a firefighter and entering an evacuation zone, deputies said.

Dustin Nehl in 2017 pleaded guilty to setting a series of fires at a golf course, a park and a water facility in Woodburn, Oregon, located about 30 miles south of Portland, KATU reported.

The fire truck, which had been obtained at auction, was impounded, deputies said. Surplus government vehicles, including fire trucks, are routinely sold at auction after departments replace them with new equipment.

The truck was originally used by a Northern California fire department; it was decommissioned about 30 years ago, the Times reported.

The arrests come after at least one other person was caught impersonating a firefighter as part of a ruse to gain access to off-limits evacuation zones and loot houses, authorities said.

Ivan Cedric Reed was charged last week with one felony count of receiving stolen property exceeding $950 in value; one misdemeanor count of impersonating a firefighter; one misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a badge; and one misdemeanor count of unauthorized entry of closed disaster area, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors claim Reed wore a yellow firefighter jacket and had a first responders’ radio in a mandatory evacuation area on Clifftop Way in Malibu and that he told deputies he was a firefighter.

Neither of the Nehls has been accused of stealing from unoccupied homes in the fire area, though the Times reported that deputies found tools in the fire truck that could be used by burglars. They also seized a map showing burn areas, according to the Times.

Nehl had presented himself as a firefighter in the LA area to get free lodging at a local Holiday Inn Express, the Times reported.

Thousands of firefighters are in Los Angeles County from fire agencies from around the world as part of the fight against the ongoing wildfires burning in Southern California, including a large number from up and down the West Coast.