Two passing motorists told Antonio Ornelas-Velazquez on October 10, 2019 that it was too dangerous to dump the burning contents of his garbage truck on the side of the road during a strong wind advisory. But according to the arrest warrant, that is what he did, near Calimesa Boulevard and Sandalwood Drive in Riverside County, California. The burning trash ignited what became the 1,011-acre Sandalwood Fire.
The wind pushed the fast-moving fire into the Villa Calimesa Mobile Home Park where it killed Hannah Labelle, 61, and Lois Arvickson, 89, and burned 74 structures.
It did not take fire investigators long to determine the cause of the fire but Mr. Ornelas-Velazquez was not arrested until Saturday, when he was charged with involuntary manslaughter and unlawfully causing a fire resulting in great bodily injury, according to a spokesperson with the Riverside County district attorney’s office. He was released the next day after posting $75,000 bond.
The truck was owned by CR&R Recycling.
The ABC7 video shows video of the smoking truck as it pulled off the road, and also has an interview with one of the motorists who said he advised the driver to dump it “anywhere but here.”
#SandalwoodFire in Calimesa is now 77% contained after the deadly blaze ripped through a mobile park, scorching over 1,000 acres and destroying dozens of homes https://t.co/MBSvXSJL0L
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) October 13, 2019
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom.
