Firefighter Accused of Starting 5 Blazes in San Diego County

A 19-year-old firefighter with the California Conservation Corps was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of setting five fires in the Julian area of northern San Diego County this week that burned 275 acres and destroyed two homes.

Jonathan Patrick Klausen was being held in County Jail on five felony charges, his bail set at $250,000.

Roxanne Provaznik, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, said residents had reported seeing suspicious activity before the fires.

Fire investigators coordinated information about when and where the fires had erupted with information about where corps firefighters had been stationed at the time. Many of the firefighters were part of the force that fought the Pines Fire, which broke out July 29 and destroyed 37 homes and blackened 62,000 acres in the same area.

Klausen is not the first firefighter to be arrested and charged with setting fires in San Diego County.

Steve Robles, 26, is serving a 17-year state prison sentence after being convicted of setting a series of fires near his Escondido home in the summer of 1997, destroying 13 homes.

Charlie Phillips, 53, who served as a volunteer firefighter near his home in Ramona, is in state prison after being convicted in 1996 of setting 16 wildfires. Investigators suspect he set more than 200 wildfires throughout San Diego County, beginning in 1980.

This week’s fires--which began between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday--led to the evacuation of hundreds of residents, many of whom had to flee July’s Pines Fire.

“A special thanks goes to the citizens of Julian for their quick reporting of the fires and observations that helped lead to an arrest,” Provaznik said.

Klausen was in a one-year program to help him earn his high school diploma.

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Times staff writer Tim Hughes contributed to this report.