The Chico Enterprise-Record
PARADISE, Calif. — A Paradise man was arrested Saturday on arson charges after he allegedly tried starting a fire on Roberts Road.
Police say that Robert Stevens Strawn, 28, was arrested after a resident saw a man acting suspiciously in the area of W. Wagstaff Road and Roberts Road.
The resident reportedly told police he saw Strawn manipulating what was believed to be some type of reflectorized screen in the unimproved lot at the northwest corner of the intersection.
Strawn reportedly stomped his feet on the leaves and brush in a manner consistent with stomping out a fire.
The resident confronted the Strawn who argued with the man before walking away from the area eastbound on Roberts Road.
But before Strawn could get a way, police arrived and stopped him. Police were directed to the empty lot in the 500 block of Roberts Road where they found a small brush pile billowing smoke and smoldering. The small burn pile was extinguished by officers, and Paradise Fire Department personnel were summoned to the scene along with an arson investigator.
Police say they found Strawn carrying a 24-by-8-inch magnifying screen for television and computer monitors, which was consistent with what the witnesses observed Strawn manipulating in the field.
The arson investigator confirmed there was sufficient fuel, air flow and lack of humidity to pose a significant fire danger. The smoldering brush could have ignited at any time placing the residents and property in substantial danger from an emergent brush fire.
Strawn was arrested and booked into the Butte County Jail for arson of forest lands. Bail was set at $75,000.
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