NBC 7’s Todd Strain has details about who was arrested and how police are working to prevent other fires.
Arrests have been made in two fires that broke out two weeks ago in San Diego, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told NBC 7.
The fires were the Friars Fire in Mission Valley and the Center Fire in Rancho Bernardo, which last week the San Diego Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST) confirmed started in homeless encampments.
San Diego police identified the three suspects on Monday morning and also detailed the charges they face.
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- MAST arrested Shinisha Nicole Smith, 31, on Jan. 23, in connection to the Friars Fire two days prior. She has been charged with arson to vegetation. Smith is due in court on Tuesday and is being held on a $75,000 bail, officials said.
- Joseph O'Conner, 66, is responsible for starting the Center Fire in Rancho Bernardo on Jan. 22, investigators believe. MAST has submitted his case to prosecutors and requested that he be charged with recklessly setting fire to forest land. Police said he has not yet been booked due to his injuries.
SDPD also said MAST made additional arrests in two small fires in the downtown area. Ricardo Agraz, 47, was arrested in connection with a small fire that started on 11th Avenue in downtown San Diego on Jan. 15; and Jerry Saenphansiri, 44, was arrested in connection with a vehicle fire on F Street on Jan. 21.
Friars Fire
Local
On Jan. 21, a brush fire on a hillside across from Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley threatened structures and prompted evacuation orders.
The blaze, dubbed the Friars Fire, was reported just after noon on the 7000 block of Friars Road, a densely populated area of Mission Valley that includes the popular shopping destination where Nordstrom is located.
The first crews arrived within six minutes, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue, whose spokesman, Jose Ysea, told NBC 7 later in the afternoon that the flames had charred 15-20 acres by the time firefighters had put it out.
Two people — one a resident and the other a firefighter — suffered minor injuries in the fire, according to Ysea, and both were brought to the hospital for treatment.
Flames shown by SkyRanger 7 in the moments after the fire started were racing up a hillside toward the 7000 block of Camino Degrazia in a housing complex called Fashion Hills. The plume of smoke from the fire was visible from Interstate 15 at one point.
At least one apartment was damaged in the fire, according to Dan Eddy, SDFD assistant chief of emergency operations.
The San Diego County Office of Education's Linda Vista campus and Linda Vista Innovation Center were evacuated and closed for the rest of the day.
Nearly 100 firefighters with various agencies, including the city of Poway, responded with 15 fire engines, three brush rigs and three firefighting helicopters.
The Fashion Valley Mall was not impacted by the fire, according to management.
Center Fire
On Jan. 22, firefighters responded to a brush fire on a mountainside in Rancho Bernardo that threatened homes and injured one person, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
The so-called Center Fire, which was also referred to as the Bernardo Fire, started around 8:55 a.m. near Bernardo Center Drive and Camino del Norte.
By 11 a.m., the fire had grown to 7 acres with no containment, but fire crews appeared to have an upper hand on the blaze, and some resources were being dispersed. By 1 p.m., containment was at 50%. All evacuation orders and warnings were lifted a little more than two hours later, San Diego police said.
The fire was burning near schools. RB Kinder Care was evacuated, and Turtleback Elementary School had students sheltering in place. The Poway Unified School District evacuated students from Rolling Hills Elementary and said they kept students at other campuses indoors as a precaution.
One person suffered burn injuries in the fire and was transported to a nearby hospital, the fire department said. Police said on Monday that the man charged in connection to the fire, Joseph O'Conner, has not yet been booked due to his injuries.
About 175 firefighters responded from agencies including Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District, Cal Fire San Diego, Poway Fire and others. Several brush rigs and fire engines, as well as three firefighting helicopters were assigned to the scene.
Editorial Note: After this story was published, San Diego police said the suspect named in a City Heights fire was included in error.
