Farmers going retro to fight haystack arsons
Stung by a string of recent arson fires that destroyed hay worth about $1 million, local farmers are fighting back by turning to an old ally.
“My message is simple: burn a bale, go to jail, and not for a short period of time,” Jeff Plourd, president of the Imperial County Farm Bureau, said bluntly in an interview about the dusting off of a 1990s-vintage education, tip and reward effort.
The first ‘Burn a Bale’ effort was christened about 30 years ago, another time when haystack arsons lit up the sky, spread acrid smoke and cost local farmers plenty.
The latest attack reached a crescendo on April 23 when a serial arsonist torched seven haystacks across the county and started a brush fire along the New River near Calipatria. The suspected arsonist, Eriberto Saucedo Delgado, 54, of Holtville, was arrested the next day by a Sheriff ’s Office deputy. He remains in the county jail on $1 million bail awaiting a May 23 hearing on whether there is enough evidence to try him on 10 fire-related charges from April 3, 16 and 23.
Authorities have said he may face further charges in connection with other recent haystack fires.
However, Plourd, who is also president of El Toro Export, in speaking to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday morning forcefully announced farmers decided they aren’t just going to be spectators.
“Our goal is to spot these arsons. Our (Farm Bureau) committee has raised $60,000, self-funded, and we’ve already had several meetings with stakeholders,” he said.
The funds will be used for public outreach about fire prevention and reporting, and for a reward fund, Plourd added. Besides destroying property that costs farmers money, the blazes pollute the air, endanger infrastructure, such as power lines, and divert public-safety resources from other needs, he said.
It is hoped technology that did not exist during the initial Burn a Bale effort — cells phones with cameras and social media — might bring quick results, Plourd said. In the mid-1990s dozens of stacks were burned over about two years before a suspect was arrested and convicted of setting some of them. While many others technically went unsolved, the fires abated greatly after the man’s arrest.
In the later interview, Plourd explained the Farm Bureau Burn a
Bale, Go to Jail Committee has subcommittees on fundraising, political objectives such as strengthening arson sentences, seeking punitive damages against perpetrators and a reward fund.
The details of the public education program and how a reward system will be structured will be finalized in upcoming meetings. Education could include media public-service announcements, signage, bumper stickers, public presentations and social media, he added.
Explaining how the organization quickly jelled, HELENE Plourd ANNE said, WADELL “In the last July year, 6, 1973 year – Apr. and 30, a half, 2022 there were more than normal haystack arsons. It (re-forming the committee) was talked about. Following the events of a couple weeks ago, it went to the front burner.”
The effort is already getting good cooperation from the Sheriff ’s Office, which has had representatives at the meetings, though Plourd stressed the back end of the enforcement effort is as important as prevention and arrests.
“Right now, the judges have the option of leniency on sencting. We want to put some teeth into this law with longer mandatory sentences. We want the Board of Supervisors to pass a resolution supporting this and send it to Sacramento,” he said.
Supervisors indicated they would support such an action.
Sheriff ’s Lt. Ryan Kelley said the agency regularly attends Farm Bureau meeting to work with the agricultural community on a variety of concerns, including theft and vandalism, and he praised the arson-prevention effort.
“For them to re-implement this is a good proactive measure. The amount of damage these fires do, it’s a lot of money. We’re hoping technology helps, but we also want people to know if they call us when they see something suspicious, we will send someone out.”
In a moment of whimsy, Plourd noted he has already seen encouraging signs the Burn a Bale effort may make a triumphant comeback.
“I saw a Burn a Bale, Go to Jail bumper sticker. Somebody found an old box of them and started handing them out,” he said.