Arson suspect arrested by UPD
Investigation links suspect to four fires
The Ukiah Valley Fire Authority responded to three fires along the railroad tracks Tuesday evening that are being investigated as suspected arson incidents.
“All three are deemed suspicious,” said UVFA Battalion Chief Eric Singleton while still at the scene of the third fire, which had been set along the tracks between Clay Street and Cleveland Lane.
The first fire was reported around 5:30 p.m. April 13 as on the railroad tracks behind the RV Park at the Redwood Empire
Fairgrounds. When crews responded, Singleton said a spot about 100-feet-by-50-feet was on fire.
“They were dry blackberry bushes that were burning really well,” Singleton said, describing the outdoor vegetation in April as
“already dry and burning. We shouldn’t be going to fires like this already, but we are.”
The second fire was reported around 6 p.m. as on the railroad tracks near the Railroad Depot across from Walgreens on East Perkins Street, and UVFA crews were dispatched to that fire, but responding Ukiah Police Department officers were able to put it out with fire extinguishers from their patrol vehicles, UPD Lt. Andy Phillips said.
Phillips said a witness reported seeing a man with a blow torch setting the fire near the depot, and officers later detained a suspect near the Grace Hudson Museum on South Main Street.
The man was later identified by the witness as the person seen with the blow torch.
“We are currently working backward from the last fire to investigate how many fires were set Tuesday, and so far we believe we have connected the suspect to four fires,”
Phillips said, identifying the suspect as Thomas L. Hidalgo, 19, whom he described as a Ukiah transient.
Hidalgo was booked into Mendocino County Jail for four felonies, including arson during a state of emergency and carrying arson materials (specifically a blow torch), as well as carrying a concealed dirk or dagger. He was also charged with violating his probation. His bail amount was not listed.
Cal Fire personnel also responded to the fires to assist.