A local landscaper allegedly witnessed the start of the Carlsbad fire and saw someone in a golf cart fleeing the scene, stopping to watch the flames for a brief time. Three suspects have been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the Oceanside and Escondido fires this past week. Most of the nine fires have been reported as having suspicious ignition points.
The Carlsbad landscaper managed to take video of the fire from the hill above, reports 10 News. The suspicious golf cart driver had already driven away when the landscaper began recording, but his video shows the trees engulfed in flames and follows the flames as they travel up the hillside.
San Diego has assembled a Joint Arson Task Force in an attempt to determine any connection between the fires.
Early on, officials, including County Supervisor Bill Horn and Carlsbad Fire Chief Michael Davis, expressed questions over the potential criminal element to the fires. Davis said, “Each fire will be looked at as a crime scene until it’s proven to be accidental” and that the investigation of the fires would be “a larger regional effort,” according to the Times.
Meanwhile, 10 News reported sources saying that all but one fire had suspicious ignition points. Since then, the Cocos/San Marcos fire has been ruled accidental due to an incident involving construction machinery.
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