BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - An Oroville man was charged today in Butte County Superior Court for setting his "own backfire" during the Thompson Fire.
Harold G. Pulley, 61, of Oroville, was arraigned in Butte County Superior Court on Friday on a single count of arson, alleging that Pulley deliberately set fire to grass and forest land off of Oro Quincy Highway during the Thompson Fire.
Butte County District Attorney Ramsey said that at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, CAL FIRE dispatch received a report of a man lighting grass on fire near the intersection of Oro Quincy Highway and Glen Drive. The location was within an area where the Butte County Sheriff had already issued an evacuation order two hours earlier because of the Thompson Fire.
A CAL FIRE engine responded to the location and observed an active fire burning in the grass to the east of a house in the 2900 block of Oro Quincy Highway. The engine crew also observed a man and a propane torch near the fire. The engine crew quickly put out the fire. Investigators from the CAL FIRE law enforcement division then arrived at the location. After being briefed by the engine crew, the investigators contacted and detained Pulley on the property.
Also on the property, CAL FIRE law enforcement personnel contacted a witness who stated Pulley was using the propane torch to light backfires, allegedly to protect the house in the area.
Ramsey said at the time of the homemade backfire, the Thompson Fire was being pushed hard by winds blowing west to east, and CAL FIRE personnel and equipment were set up to defend the Kelly Ridge area of Oroville to the east of the backfire. Without quick intervention by the first responding fire engine, the backfire could have trapped fire personnel setting up to fight the fire to the east.
Ramsey said setting a backfire is a tactic utilized by trained firefighting personnel only in extreme circumstances when the weather and topography are favorable, and only after extensive planning and communication.
"What Pulley was doing was extremely dangerous and stupid. There was no planning, no communication, and no safety precautions in place. The wind was blowing hard from west to east and the location where Pulley was lighting fires was south of (behind) Cal Fire's established lines. Those fires had catastrophic potential for the firefighters and structures to the east and potentially could have shut down Olive Highway, delaying the personnel and equipment needed to defend Kelly Ridge.”
CAL FIRE law enforcement personnel contacted the owner of the home in the area, who identified Pulley as a person he hired to do odd jobs around the property. The property owner said he had asked Pulley to do some fire mitigation work around the house but had neither instructed nor authorized Pulley to light backfires on the property.
Ramsey said that Pulley faces 12 years in state prison if convicted as charged, as he has a previous "strike" on his record for felony assault. At his arraignment this afternoon, the judge set his bail at $175,000.
Pulley will be back in court on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. for entry of plea and setting of a preliminary hearing.
