On Sunday evening, firefighters were battling more than a dozen fires across Northern California, including a new one called the Jerusalem fire that was exploding north of Napa in Lake County.
Then they received reports of another fire nearby. Officials quickly determined this fire had been set intentionally by a man allegedly trying to protect his marijuana-growing operation.
Juan Ramos Silva, 49, of Lower Lake was taken into custody on suspicion of arson and setting a backfire, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Silva started the large backfire at 5:43 p.m. Sunday, a couple of miles away from the Jerusalem fire in a rural, sparse area northeast of Middletown, said Lt.