Three local Oregon residents apprehended a suspected arsonist and tied him up to a tree until responding officers arrived, a sheriff said on Tuesday. The man reportedly ignited wildfires in a remote, forested corner of Oregon, according to witnesses.
On Monday, a U.S. Bureau of Land Management employee called authorities reporting a man walking along a gravel road and setting fires, in the forest some 25 miles northwest of Grants Pass, the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon. Ground crews, assisted by local residents, and three helicopters swiftly got the two fires under control, Curry County Sheriff John Ward said.
Meanwhile, three local residents spotted the suspect walking on the road near the fires and detained him.
“It was reported that the suspect became very combative with the three residents and had to be tied to a tree to subdue him.,” Ward said in a statement. “The suspect was transported to the hospital by ambulance crew due to some injuries he apparently sustained from falling down.
After receiving treatment for his injuries at the hospital, The 30-year-old suspect, identified by authorities as Trennon Smith, of Veneta, Oregon, was being held on Tuesday in the Curry County jail on charges of arson and reckless burning, Ward said. He is being held on a $100,000 bond.
The area where Smith started the fires is only accessible either by the Rogue River or Forest Service and BLM roads. Lodges are nearby in the remote region, used by rafters and fishermen.
“The quick actions on getting the fires out most certainly averted a catastrophe and saved lives,” Ward said. “If the fires had not been contained and if they got out of control, they could have blocked all the residents and visitors from having an escape route.”