A brush fire that spread across Point Richmond’s Nicholl Knob on July 5 was an alleged case of arson by two men, one of whom was arrested at the scene, according to local officials.
Witnesses at the scene of the fire, which began just after 7 p.m. on Dornan Drive, near the Richmond Rambler’s Motorcycle Club building, reportedly saw at least one man using cigarettes and a lighter to set fire to vegetation in multiple areas, Richmond Fire Chief Aaron Osorio told Richmondside on Thursday.
Though the fire, which spread to around four acres, did not trigger any evacuations, it prompted an emergency fire plane to respond. It also caused the closure of all trails on the hill portion of Miller Knox Park and Nicholl Knob the following day to ensure the blaze wouldn’t restart.
As the two suspects attempted to drive away from the area the driver reversed their vehicle into one of the department’s responding fire engines, Osorio said.
“They were together in a vehicle and got out (of the parking lot) as the first engine arrived. He was trying to back out of the parking lot quickly,” Osorio said. “He backed into the front bumper of the fire engine.”
East Bay Regional Parks police officers arrived on scene in time to witness the collision and detained the driver, but did not realize that the men were also suspected of starting the fire.
“All they knew was that this guy backed up into the fire engine. They suspected him of driving under the influence, they did a sobriety check and they detained him,” Osorio said. “During the commotion and all the units responding, the passenger walked away and it wasn’t until later on that they realized this was the same group of people who started the fire.”
Richmondside reached out to the East Bay Regional Parks Police Department on Thursday for information on the arrest, and to find out if authorities were able to locate the second man, but did not receive a response by publication time.
The arson revelation puts an end to rumors that the fire was started by illegal fireworks.
“I know that there were a lot of suspicions but we can confirm that (fireworks) were not the cause of it,” Osorio said. “It was an arson fire.”
Richmond officials and residents joined forces this year around a campaign that included community town hall meetings, to try to put a stop to illegal fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday.
