A Ukiah man has been arrested for allegedly igniting the Hopkins Fire which has threatened Mendocino County since Sunday, CAL FIRE officials announced.
Devin Lamar Johnson, 20, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of arson after surveillance footage, obtained from a business near where the blaze began, led authorities to identify Johnson as a suspect.
"This footage identified an adult male as being the person, the reason, the cause, of the Hopkins Fire," Captain Greg Van Patten said in an update posted to Facebook.
Since it was sparked on Sept. 12 at around 2:15 p.m., the fire has burned multiple homes, damaged utility equipment and triggered evacuation orders and warnings for several hundred residents in and around Calpella ー an unincorporated community in Mendocino County.
After being detained and questioned, it was discovered that Johnson is currently on active felony probation for an attempted robbery charge previous to the fire. He is now being held at the Mendocino County Jail for violation of his probation and three separate charges of arson.
The Hopkins Fire is currently at 257 acres with 65% containment.
On Wednesday, CAL FIRE began to repopulate part of the area, but warned that they are not out of the woods yet.
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