University professor admits setting fires behind Dixie Fire firefighters

A former university professor who taught criminal justice (you can’t make this stuff up) has pleaded guilty to setting fires behind firefighters on the 2021 Dixie Fire in northern California, which was at the time the second-largest fire in state history.

arsonist "Professor" Gary Maynard
Arsonist Professor Gary Maynard

Gary Maynard, 49, of San Jose was in federal court this week on three counts of arson on federal property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento. The fires that Maynard started effectively surrounded the firefighters, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Mercury News reported that the Dixie Fire burned through five counties over 963,300 acres, destroying 1,311 structures and killing one person, according to Cal Fire.

Also, Marcus Pacheco, an assistant fire engine operator for the Lassen National Forest, died of Covid while working the fire, as did two water tender operators, Jose T. Calderon and Cessar Saenz, both of San Diego County.

Maynard faces up to 20 years in a prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the three counts of arson on federal property, the U.S. Justice Department said in a press release following his plea on Thursday; sentencing is set for May.  He was charged with setting four fires — Cascade, Everitt, Ranch, and Conard — and under the plea agreement he admitted to three of the four counts.

The Dixie Fire itself was ignited when Pacific Gas & Electric powerlines came in contact with a nearby pine tree, according to Cal Fire. PG&E paid $45 million to settle the lawsuit.

At Santa Clara University and Sonoma State University, Maynard lectured in criminal justice, cults and — seriously — deviant behavior.

Gary Maynard, arsonist

USFS agents started their investigation of him and his activities back in July of 2021 after the Cascade Fire was reported on the slopes of Mt. Shasta; an investigator found Maynard underneath his black Kia Soul, which was stuck in a ditch with its undercarriage high-centered. A second fire took off on Mt. Shasta the next day, and investigators found tire tracks similar to those of the Kia. They set a tracking device under Maynard’s Kia in August, which recorded his travel  to the area where the Ranch and Conard fires started on the Lassen National Forest.

As part of his plea, Maynard also agreed Thursday to pay up to $500,000 in restitution to the federal government.

~ Thanks and a tip of the hardhat to Jim. 

The Ranch Fire burns hundreds of acres southwest of Red Bluff, Calif.

Ranch Fire map
Map showing heat detected by a satellite on the Ranch Fire at 1:06 p.m. PDT Nov. 4, 2019.

UPDATED at 6:42 p.m. PDT Nov. 4, 2019

CAL FIRE reported Monday at 6:25 p.m. that the Ranch Fire 21 miles southwest of Red Bluff, California has burned 1,308 acres. Early Monday morning it was 550 acres.

(To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ranch Fire, including the most recent, click here.)

The fire was very active Monday afternoon as firefighters on the ground were assisted by numerous air tankers and helicopters.

The fire was originally reported at Colyer Springs Road and Raglin Ridge Road in Tehama County.

The weather forecast for the fire area on Tuesday calls for moderate fire weather; 77 degrees, relative humidity of 20 percent, and winds from variable directions at 6 mph. Early in the morning the wind will be out of the northwest but will shift throughout the day, becoming southeast by sunset. Similar conditions are expected on Wednesday except the wind will be 6 to 10 mph out of the north after 9 a.m.

Ranch Fire map satellite photo
Sensors on the GOES-17 satellite detected heat and smoke from the Ranch Fire at 3:06 p.m. PDT Nov. 4, 2019.

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Video of extreme firefighting at the 2018 Ranch Fire

Ranch Fire Clear Lake California
Screenshot from video of the Ranch Fire shot by 564 Fire in 2018.

A photographer who specializes fires shot some incredible video of firefighters dealing with what must have been hundreds of spot fires in a meadow of dead grass. In the dry, windy weather they spread immediately after burning embers blown by the wind fell into the abundant fuel. There were far more rapidly spreading spot fires than the resources on scene could pick up, so they had to withdraw and come up with another plan.

It was shot by 564 Fire at the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex of Fires that burned near Clear Lake in northern California in July and August of 2018. The total size of the complex, which included the River and Ranch Fires, was 459,123 acres. The video was uploaded to YouTube June 18, 2019.

Mendocino Complex fire Ranch California map
The red line on the map was the perimeter of the Ranch Fire at 9:15 p.m. PDT August 26, 2018. The white line was the perimeter on August 14. The red and yellow dots represent heat detected by a satellite in the 24 hour period ending at 2:31 a.m. PDT August 27, 2018.

Investigators determine Ranch Fire caused by spark from hammer

Mendocino Complex of Fires
Map showing heat detected on the Ranch and River Fires at 3:31 a.m. PDT July 28, 2018, about 15 hours after they started. Click to enlarge.

Investigators for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CAL FIRE, determined that the Ranch Fire that started east of Ukiah, California July 27, 2018 began when a man used a hammer to drive a 24-inch metal stake into the ground.

An hour after the Ranch Fire began during Red Flag Warning conditions, the River Fire started about 13 miles to the south, west of Clear Lake. The two fires were later managed as the Mendocino Complex, named after the county in which they started. The Ranch Fire consumed 410,203 acres and damaged or destroyed 280 structures.

The investigators talked with a property owner who explained that he was installing a shade cover over a water tank when he agitated an underground yellow jacket’s nest. Being allergic to bees, he retreated until after they stopped swarming, then using a claw hammer he drove the metal stake 10 to 12 inches into the ground to plug the hole. He smelled smoke and saw a fire that was about two feet by two feet. His efforts to put it out with a shovel and two different water lines were not successful.

While he was riding his four-wheeler to try to get out ahead of the fire, the vehicle rolled downhill, lodging itself between the water tank and a cut bank.

The investigator said that at the time of the interview the man appeared to be suffering from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion but he refused an ambulance and medical treatment.

The recently released investigator’s report was written March 28, 2019.

Mendocino Complex fire Ranch California map
The red line on the map was the perimeter of the Ranch Fire at 9:15 p.m. PDT August 26, 2016, a month after the fires started. The white line was the perimeter on August 14. The red and yellow dots represent heat detected by a satellite in the 24 hour period ending at 2:31 a.m. PDT August 27, 2018. Click to enlarge.