Santa Clarita man charged for allegedly beginning Bouquet Hearth – NBC Los Angeles
A Santa Clarita man has been charged with arson involving federal property after allegedly beginning a wildfire within the Angeles Nationwide Forest that scorched greater than 1,000 acres and prompted evacuation orders final weekend, the U.S. Division of Justice introduced Friday.
Rodney Ameile Saba, 70, is accused of igniting the Bouquet Hearth behind his house on Bouquet Canyon Street, northeast of Santa Clarita at about 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 3, based on the federal felony criticism. He was arrested later that day.
Federal prosecutors say Saba warned a neighbor a few shotgun-blast-like sound earlier than witnesses reported listening to an explosion and Saba yelling for assist. Witnesses then noticed a hearth quickly spreading up the hillside.
Saba advised regulation enforcement he was on his porch when he threw a cigarette onto fireworks, resulting in the explosion and hearth, the criticism alleges. A lighter, cigarettes, shotgun ammunition and an aerial mortar firework had been later recovered from his cabin, the DOJ stated.
The firefight comes as an prolonged warmth wave grips Los Angeles County and most components of Southern California. Amber Frias experiences for the NBC4 Information at 11 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Hearth investigators decided fireworks doubtless brought on the Bouquet Hearth, federal prosecutors stated.
The blaze burned roughly 1,048 acres and triggered evacuation orders and warnings as a warmth wave gripped Los Angeles County and most components of Southern California.
The U.S. Forest Service, alongside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division’s Arson Explosives Element, is dealing with the investigation.
Saba, who the DOJ says has a number of prior felony convictions, is ready to make his first look in U.S. District Court docket in downtown LA. If he is convicted, Saba faces a most of 20 years in federal jail.
