A 47-year-old woman is behind bars after Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said she intentionally started a brush fire in Angeles National Forest on Saturday, during a stretch of dangerous, windy fire weather. Sheila Nartatez was arrested and later booked into Crescenta Valley Station jail on a charge of recklessly setting fire to forestry land, with bail set at $35,000.
U.S. Forest Service firefighters allegedly spotted Nartatez walking near the blaze by Little Tujunga Canyon Road, according to KTLA. Crescenta Valley Station deputies responded and detained her for questioning, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department ultimately determined that she had intentionally started the fire. Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames before they grew larger than half an acre.
Fire Broke Out Under a Red Flag Warning
The fire ignited as dry, windy conditions were already raising alarm across the region. The National Weather Service had issued a Red Flag Warning through the remainder of Saturday covering parts of the Santa Monica Mountains, San Gabriel Mountains and Santa Clarita Valley, as reported by CBS Los Angeles. Forecasters warned of a heightened risk for rapid fire growth and extreme fire behavior with any new fire starts.
Even outside the warning zones, communities were bracing for winds between 20 and 30 miles per hour, the station reported. Low humidity compounded the danger, and the National Weather Service noted that fuels remained critically dry despite some minor greenup from recent rains.
Sheriff's Officials Call Reckless Fires Especially Dangerous Right Now
The sheriff's department described reckless fire-starting as inherently dangerous during red-flag warnings for high-wind events, according to the seed report. Officials said strong winds can carry embers long distances, ignite multiple fires, and turn a small blaze into an uncontrollable wildfire. They added that gusting winds, steep terrain and dry conditions can accelerate fire spread and endanger lives, homes, wildlife and communities.
The investigation into Nartatez remains ongoing, authorities said. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the LASD Arson and Explosives Detail.
Small Fires, Big Risk in California's Wildlands
Nartatez's arrest adds to a broader pattern researchers have tracked in California's wildfire landscape. Cal Fire staff chief Gianni Muschetto has said arson accounted for roughly 10% to 15% of the state's wildfires over a recent five-year span, according to LAist. The outlet also cited 2022 data showing 358 arson fires statewide that burned about 12,000 acres, and noted that the National Park Service estimates nearly 85% of wildland fires nationwide are caused by human action.
Arson-related arrests in Cal Fire's jurisdiction have fluctuated in recent years — 162 in 2022, the highest total in the five-year period LAist examined, compared with 111 in 2023 and just 61 in 2018, per that outlet's reporting. In one high-profile example cited by LAist, San Bernardino County authorities arrested 34-year-old Justin Wayne Halstenberg in 2024 on suspicion of starting the destructive Line Fire.
A Separate Small Fire Reported in the Same Forest
A separate report from Audacy's KNX News described a small brush fire along Little Tujunga Road in Angeles National Forest, which crews held to under an acre with no injuries reported; that report said the cause was not immediately clear. It is not established whether that incident is the same fire tied to Nartatez's arrest or a separate event.
Under California Penal Code Section 452, a person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when they recklessly set fire to, burn, or cause to be burned a structure, forest land, or property, according to California Legislative Information. That statutory language does not by itself establish guilt in any individual case, and Nartatez's case remains under investigation.
