Santa Barbara police arrested a man who admitted to starting a string of fires on Thursday — the day before a red flag warning for the region was set to go into effect.
On October 15 at noon, officers arrived at the scene of a brush fire near La Cumbre Junior High School, where Santa Barbara firefighters were actively extinguishing the flames.
When officers arrived, they discovered a second brush fire burning just down the street near Santa Barbara Fire Station 5. Together police officers and firefighters were able to put out both blazes.
About a quarter-mile down the road, while SBPD and firefighters were at work extinguishing the two fires, another SBPD officer on patrol found a third brush fire on Modoc, just past Las Positas Road. At the scene was 43-year-old Calletano Bedolla-Bibiano, who police say admitted to starting all three fires.
During subsequent investigation, Bedolla-Bibiano was linked to starting four additional fires last weekend on the 3600 block of State Street, near Speedway Gas Station.
Bedolla-Bibiano was arrested on multiple counts of arson and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail Thursday afternoon.
According to County Fire, Thursday’s fire danger was set at high. With Santa Ana winds starting to pick up and a National Weather Service Fire Weather Watch and red flag warning set to take effect Friday morning, firefighters worked quickly to successfully extinguish all three blazes.
Investigators and the SBFD Fire Marshal arrived on scene of the fires to conduct an investigation, which remains ongoing.
