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No arson charges for man arrested during San Diego County wildfires

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No charges will be filed against a 19-year-old man who was arrested last week by Escondido police on suspicion of trying to set two brush fires as a series of destructive blazes spread across northern San Diego County, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Isaiah Silva had been scheduled for arraignment, but the San Diego County district attorney’s office announced that after reviewing the case prosecutors decided “there is not sufficient evidence to suggest he started a fire.”

Silva and a 17-year-old were arrested Thursday night while the Cocos fire was raging in nearby San Marcos. They were not suspected of being involved in that fire, officials said.

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The district attorney’s office declined to say whether charges would be brought against the 17-year-old, citing state law that requires confidentiality in most juvenile cases.

The Cocos fire, which burned nearly 2,000 acres, was 93% contained on Monday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Firefighters continue to mop up hot spots.

Of the fires that burned more than 27,000 acres in northern San Diego County, a cause has been determined for only one -- the Bernardo fire that began near Rancho Bernardo was determined to have been caused by a mishap involving a backhoe at a construction site.

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A task force of federal, state and local fire investigators is probing the causes of the other blazes.

An Oceanside man pleaded not guilty last week to throwing brush onto a small fire in the San Luis River area, but he was not charged with starting the blaze. He also is not suspected of being involved in the large brush fires.

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