On Monday, three local residents of Curry County, Oregon saw a man who allegedly started two wildfires nearby and tied him to a tree as they waited for authorities to arrive and arrest him, according to the Curry County Sheriff's Office.
Curry County Sheriff John Ward said in a statement posted to Facebook that they responded to a radio call from a U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employee who reported that a man was walking along a gravel road and setting fires near the Rogue River Ranch and Mariel Lodge in Mariel, Oregon.
"The location of Mariel Lodge and Rogue River Ranch is in the far northeast portion of Curry County, only accessible either by river or Forest Service and BLM roads," Ward said in the statement.
Several law enforcement and firefighting agencies searched for the suspect while three helicopters, ground crews, and local residents "quickly got the two fires under control and contained."
While authorities were putting out the fires, the three local residents spotted the suspect walking on the roadway and did everything they could to detain him.
"It was reported that the suspect became very combative with the three residents and had to be tied to a tree to subdue him," Ward said in the statement. "An ambulance crew was asked to respond due to some injuries that the suspect apparently received from falling down."
U.S. Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement arrested the suspect and identified him as 30-year-old Trennon Smith, of Veneta, Oregon.
After Smith was medically cleared at a local hospital, he was transferred to Curry County Jail and charged with two counts of first-degree arson and one count of reckless burning.
"The quick actions on getting the fires out most certainly averted a catastrophe and saved lives," Ward said in the statement. "The total area burnt is less than one acre. If the fires had not been contained and if they got out of control, they could have blocked all the residents and visitors from having an escape route."
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