Sacramento County arsons are on the rise: What residents need to know
SACRAMENTO COUNTY -- The number of arsons and arsonists, including serial arsonists, is up in Sacramento County -- especially in fires that are linked to people who are experiencing homelessness.
Sacramento Metro Fire's arson investigator told CBS13 the number of fires started by people who live unhoused went up 111% in 2022, and that trend has continued into 2023.
Now, with hotter and drier days on the horizon and wildfire season beginning, identifying outstanding arsonists is crucial for arson investigators.
"Arson is on the rise, especially within Sacramento County, and especially among the community of persons who are experiencing homelessness," said Chris Rogers, Sacramento Metro Fire's Arson Investigator.
"We are seeing more serial arson. I can tell you that in the last two to three weeks we've actually made two arrests on persons that are part of that community [living unhoused] for crimes of serial arson."
Rogers explained that one of the contributing factors is when there is a fire, a trained investigator in origin of cause tells investigators whether or not the fire was arson.
"Arson is one of the most difficult crimes to actually investigate and to successfully prosecute," said Rogers.
From there, identifying the person involved is sometimes complicated, because oftentimes "arson is a crime that occurs under the cover of darkness."
Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend, fire investigators are also warning of the use of illegal fireworks.
"if you start a fire with use of illegal fireworks, we don't consider that an accident, we don't consider that a reckless fire," Rogers said. "You can actually be charged with arson if you start a fire with illegal fireworks."
Investigators say just because California experienced a wet winter, the same summer concerns of hot days and dry conditions still apply -- and its why they say a fire can spread in ways that can't be foreseen.