LOS ANGELES – A man will be sentenced for his role in starting a fire in the Angeles National Forest that consumed 1,700 acres, according to federal officials.
Jonathan Carl Jarrell, 24, was found guilty Friday of a felony, unlawfully setting the timber afire above Glendora that became known as the Colby Fire.
After a three-day trial, a jury also convicted Jarrell of a misdemeanor offense of illegally starting a fire. Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on two other misdemeanor fire-related charges.
Two other defendants – Clifford Eugene Henry Jr, 22, of Glendora, and Steven Robert Aguirre, 21 – were each found guilty a week ago of four charges – one felony and three misdemeanors – related to the fire.
Jarrell faces up to 5½ year in federal prison when he is sentenced on July 31. Henry and Aguirre are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 4. They both face up to 6½ years in prison.
The Colby Fire started on the morning of January 16.
By that evening, authorities said the fire had consumed more than 1,700 acres of federal, state, local and private lands. The fire had also destroyed five residences, damaged 17 additional structures, and resulted in injuries to one civilian and two firefighters, federal officials said.
Henry, Aguirre and Jarrell were detained by Glendora Police Officers after they were seen escaping the fire, officials said.
During interviews with Glendora Police and investigators with the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Arson Investigations Unit – interviews that the jury heard during the two trials – all three defendants admitted playing a role in the starting of a campfire that started the Colby Fire after wind blew burning paper into the brush in the hills above Glendora, officials said.
A U.S. Forest Service fire investigator determined that the origin of the Colby Fire was at a point near a fire ring built by the three men at the Angeles National Forest.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Forest Service, the Glendora Police Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.