Boy, 12, Charged in O.C. Blaze

A 12-year-old Texas boy was charged Friday with setting a brush fire that tore through Trafalgar Canyon in San Clemente in August, destroying six homes and causing more than $4 million in property damage.

The boy was spending the summer with a family in San Clemente and “wanted to see what a big fire would look like,” said Tori Richards, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office. He allegedly tossed burning matches into dry brush at the bottom of the coastal canyon near the San Clemente Pier, prosecutors said.

Two brothers with whom the suspect was staying witnessed the fire but have not been charged, officials said. The brothers tried to snuff out the fire, but the 12-year-old held them back, authorities allege.

The four-month investigation by the Orange County Fire Authority was complicated by reluctant witnesses and lengthy negotiations with the suspect’s family and lawyer, officials said.

“Investigators had a good idea initially who did this, but they still had to do a lot of work,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Joe Williams. “There was a lot of reluctance on the part of a lot of people to come forward. Also, when you’re dealing with a minor, there’s a presumption that they don’t know right from wrong. The investigators had to prove that he knew he was doing something wrong.”

Prosecutors did not identify any of they boys involved because they are minors. John Barnett, the suspect’s lawyer, declined to comment Friday.

The boy remains with his parents in El Paso. Prosecutors say they hope the family will bring him to Orange County voluntarily, where he would be tried in Juvenile Court on three counts of arson to an inhabited structure and one count of arson to a forest. If the boy’s family refuses to bring him to California, prosecutors will try to extradite him, Richards said.

At the site of the fire Friday, residents and victims expressed relief that charges had been filed but also sympathy for the suspect. Neighbors said the boy and the two brothers were often seen skateboarding and fooling around.

“It’s a terrible burden for a 12-year-old; it’s real sad,” said Barbara Sullivan. She and her husband, Richard, lost their home and live in a rental unit a mile away. They are trying to rebuild their gutted condo.

“I’m not mad at him,” she said. “I feel bad for him. . . . It’s a hard lesson for this child.”

The fire broke out Aug. 1 at 3:20 p.m. as the boys played along the canyon. The suspect, prosecutors allege, prevented his friends from stopping the blaze because he wanted to see how large it would grow. When it got out of control, the boy allegedly told a nearby lifeguard about it and ran.

Fueled by ocean breezes and heavy coastal sage, the fire raced up a steep, quarter-mile slope and engulfed a million-dollar condominium complex on Cazador Lane. It jumped to a second complex and destroyed more units.

No one was injured, but dozens of residents were evacuated as more than 100 firefighters battled the blaze. Several witnesses reported seeing two or three teenagers running from the area near the beach where the fire broke out.

The district attorney’s office said it will seek restitution for the victims from the boy’s parents.

Residents of the neighborhood said the boys were a fixture of the summer scene and were known for their mischievousness.

“They were bright boys,” said Gayle Pentoney, who lives next door to several condos that were destroyed.

For example, Pentoney said the boys figured out how to open a security gate from the outside, which allowed them access to a hot tub in one condominium complex.

“The kids disappeared right after the fire, and soon after their parents were gone too,” Pentoney said. “That raised suspicion.”

Today, all that remains of some homes are scorched foundations.