A man was taken into custody on Friday in connection with two vegetation fires along Highway 99 outside of Chico. CAL FIRE Butte Unit crews responded to a fire along southbound Highway 99 near Butte Creek, where the Incident Commander noted its suspicious nature.
CAL FIRE Law Enforcement Officers arrived about 40 minutes after the initial dispatch due to multiple fires in the area. At the scene, they encountered Brian Quaschnic, who claimed he had not seen the fire or anyone nearby.
Three hours later, a second fire ignited just 10 yards from the first. Officers conducted a search and found Quaschnic hiding under a bridge. An investigation revealed both fires to be acts of arson. Quaschnic, a known arson registrant on probation, was found with a functioning cigarette lighter.
He was booked into Butte County Jail on two felony counts of arson to wildland, with bail set at $75,000. This incident marks the third felony arson arrest in Butte County in the past week. CAL FIRE and Butte County maintain a zero-tolerance policy for arson.
Anyone with information about suspected arson is encouraged to contact the Butte Unit Fire Prevention Bureau at 530-538-7888 or the Statewide Arson Hotline at 1-800-468-4408.
