Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
Lompoc Police arrested a man they believe is responsible for intentionally setting a brush fire on Sunday morning.
At 10:45 a.m., the Lompoc Fire Department, Vandenberg Fire, Santa Barbara County Fire, and County Air Support responded to a growing brush fire south of Allan Hancock College off Highway 1.
Around 11:30 a.m., fire officials requested assistance from the Lompoc Police Department after seeing a person they believed was responsible for sparking the blaze. Officer responded to the former Valley drive-in at 2126 North H Street, not far from the fire.
Claudio Nava Santiago, 31, was arrested for suspicion of arson and booked into the Lompoc Police Department’s jail. He is reportedly being held on a $75,000 bond.
The forward progress of the fire was haltd around 12:45 p.m. The size has yet to be released.
Southbound lanes of Highway 1 were temporarily closed as crews attacked the blaze, but all lanes were reopened by 1:15 p.m.
Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact the Lompoc Police Department at (805) 736-2341.
HancockIncident- SBC ASU Copt 964 assist Lompoc Fire with air support and ground crews. pic.twitter.com/I3LtjC7Tox
— Scott Safechuck (@SBCFireInfo) June 25, 2023
We need to take a stand against this “yesterday”! It is going to quickly get out of control. I mean WHO wouldn’t want to live in SB for free and get air-conditioned units and services. STOP rewarding bad behavior. This is a VERY expensive place to live but many of us work our tails off to afford the rents. The uber wealthy are behind fences and never have to deal with it up close. I think we should see who is sober and has a job but cannot afford rent and they go to the front of the line. The others maybe need to hit the road before SB goes the way of San Fran. Old Navy’s flagship store is shutting down there along with two formerly glorious hotels. The Old Navy store is closing because the theft and inability to do a THING about it is ruining their business. They are not in the business of supplying high end clothes to people for free. The hotels are closing because the street scene in front of the hotels is so horrendous that no one wants to stay there. If we do not stop this madness soon, our tourism will dry up too. We will be taken over by people who do not contribute anything to society yet use all the services. I am fed up.
Homeless camp situation in and near the riverbed on the Northside of the City has gotten out of hand. This is probably where this arsonist was staying. Yesterday, I saw several men gathered around a small black car near the tents that are now visible on airport property. The area is filled with garbage, bikes, stolen shopping carts, in full view of all entering and leaving Lompoc. Who knows what was going on. But the fact that our airport is now allowing ‘illegal’ camping and probably illegal activities on city property is very disturbing. We have the piper fly in in a few weeks. Will the 100s of visitors participating see this mess as they enter our city. Our local government seems to turn a blind eye on all this homeless/illegal activity. Word on the street is the town has never looked so bad.
Really? There are homeless issues beyond the City of Santa Barbara? You’d never know it from the comments on this site! I thought it was all the SB Mayor and City Council’s doing…
My recent experience with the homeless in Lompoc. In front of our office downtown, a homeless man took up residence for a few days. The office next to ours called the police. They don’t know if they came but the man living there for a few days left. And he left behind all his goodies which I cleaned up. It included makeshift drug paraphernalia, lots of cardboard, dirty clothes and a pile of human feces. I called Solid Waste and the mayor’s office. No response from the mayor’s office and solid waste said the owner was responsible for cleaning up the poop because it was private property. ugh!