SIMI VALLEY : 2 Boys Accused of Setting Brush Fire

Simi Valley police and Ventura County fire investigators arrested two 14-year-old boys on suspicion of arson Friday, charging them in a brush fire that blackened 50 acres of pasture Thursday off Las Llajas Road in the city’s eastern end.

The boys, who were not identified because of their ages, confessed to setting the fire, said Peter Cronk, an investigator for the Ventura County Fire Department.

Cronk said that if the boys are found guilty in juvenile court, they would be billed for the cost of putting out the fire, which will total several thousand dollars. The fire took 15 engines, two helicopters, two bulldozers, about 100 firefighters and two hand crews about two hours to extinguish.

Although the boys were charged with felony arson, if they are found guilty, they probably will not be sentenced to Juvenile Hall. Instead, they may be ordered to serve probation and community service and pay the bill for dousing the fire, Cronk said. He added, “Our recommendation to the families is that the families don’t pay it--that the kids pay it, even if it takes them 10 years.”