Crime
Former professor charged with four arson charges during catastrophic Dixie Fire
Initially blamed on climate change, the fires turned out to have been allegedly set by a disturbed activist.
November 19, 2021 6:13pm
Updated: November 20, 2021 1:11pm
A former California college professor was indicted on federal charges of arson Thursday on accusations of setting a series of small fires around firefighters battling the massive Dixie Fire earlier this summer.
Gary Stephen Maynard, 47, was not accused of starting the Dixie Fire itself, but four wildfires in July and August behind active firefighters. A court document from August outlined specific details, stating “He entered the evacuation zone and began setting fires behind the first responders fighting the Dixie fire.”
But this did more than contribute to the fire’s growth. The same document continues that two of “Maynard’s fires were placed in the perfect position to increase the risk of firefighters being trapped between fires.”
The Dixie Fire started on July 13, likely sparked by a fallen tree on a live power line near the Cresta Dam in Northern California and was only fully contained over three months later on October 25. By this time, it had burned almost one million acres, becoming the second largest wildfire in state history after the August Complex fire of 2020.
U.S. Forest Service agents began investigating Maynard when he was rescued from under his Kia Soul near a fire on Mount Shasta July 20. They bugged his car after a second fire started on Mount Shasta the next day, which tracked him to the site of two fires that started August 7. His tire tracks matching his car were found at each site.
Maynard had been living alone in his car prior to his arrest, according to CBS Sacramento. He had worked as adjunct faculty and part-time lecturer at Santa Clara University and Sonoma State University as recently as last year. At Sonoma State he taught in the criminology and criminal justice department.
He faces four counts of arson and one count of setting timber afire for acts allegedly committed on federal property. The federal indictment is from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of arson.
