Sonoma College Professor Charged In Setting Fires Near Dixie Fire

LASSEN COUNTY, CA — A college professor was charged with arson after U.S. Forest Service agents said he set several fires in Northern California near the Dixie fire, which became the state's single largest wildfire in history this week.

Gary Stephen Maynard, 47, who previously taught criminal justice classes at Sonoma State University and Santa Clara University, was accused of "willfully setting fire to land owned by or under the jurisdiction of the United States," according to court documents filed Saturday.

Maynard was arrested Saturday in a closed area of Lassen National Forest, near where he is suspected of igniting wildland fires, according to court documents. He was being temporarily held at Sacramento County Jail, CNN reported.

Arson of a structure or forest land is a felony that could result in imprisonment in California for two to six years, according to the state.

Investigators launched an investigation into Maynard after his vehicle was spotted near where the Cascade fire sparked on July 20.

Investigators placed a tracking device under Maynard's vehicle to keep tabs on him as he traveled throughout Lassen County, court documents said. It tracked tire marks that matched those of Maynard's black 2012 Kia Soul and that were left at the site of several wildland fires in Lassen County, according to court documents.

Maynard had been living out of his Kia Soul in the area, court documents said.

Authorities accused Maynard of intentionally igniting the Ranch and Conard fires, both of which started in the Lassen National Forest Saturday morning. Agents believed based on tracking data that Maynard drove away from a campsite before heading southbound on Conard Road.

The tracking data showed that Maynard continued to linger in the area and eventually circled back toward where the Conard fire started, according to court documents.

Authorities came into contact with Maynard several times as he drove his Kia Soul in and out of restricted areas and lingered near wildfires sparked this month, the court documents said.

Maynard has denied starting any fires.

A witness told authorities that she spotted a man driving a vehicle that matched Maynard's near where the Cascade fire ignited. She told investigators that he seemed mentally unstable and alleged that he was "mumbling a lot and having bipolar-like behavior," according to court documents.

Kathryn Charpentier told KRON4 that she previously lived with Maynard in San Jose and that he had become homeless and had difficulty finding work. She described him as someone who deals with mental illness.

Lassen County sheriff's Deputy Steven Lawton reportedly informed Maynard that he was being charged with felony arson, at which point he went into a fit of rage, kicking his cell door and yelling expletives at law enforcement officers, court documents said.

"I am going to kill you, you [expletive] pig," Maynard said, according to court documents. "I told those [expletive] I didn't start any of those fires!"

An official cause of the Dixie fire has not been declared.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said its equipment may have sparked a smaller blaze that later merged with the massive fire, according to a report released by the utility last month.

The Dixie fire ignited on July 14, a day after a PG&E utility repair man discovered a blown fuse that may have sparked a fire in the area.

The fire has destroyed nearly 550 homes and has burned 501,008 acres. It was just 30 percent contained on Wednesday.