YOLO COUNTY — A captain of the volunteer Capay Valley Fire Department is under arrest and investigation for 143 fires which have occurred over the past 18 years in Yolo County, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF).
Thirty-seven-year-old volunteer firefighter Robert Eric Eason of Guinda has been a member of the Capay Fire Protection District since 1988 and now faces 12 felony counts of arson to forest land and 12 felony counts of using a time-delayed incendiary device.
Charges could mount as investigators continue their probe of fires in the Capay Valley and Rumsey Canyon areas.
Eason allegedly contributed to setting 1,000 acres on fire out of the 10,000 acres that burned in Yolo County on Sept. 22. Two of those counts include this 1,000-acre fire that occurred off of Highway 16 and County Road 82B between Esparto and the Cache Creek Casino.
Past fires along the Highway 16 corridor have cost taxpayers over $20 million dollars to suppress, according to the CDF.
CDF information officer Tina Rose said Eason was arraigned on Monday and pleaded not guilty.
“The California Department of Forestry is still actively investigating all 143 fires,” said Rose. “CDF investigates every single wildland fire and we are the state agency responsible for and charged to come up with a cause for all fires.”
All investigations are confidential and CDF investigators have a conviction rate of more than 90 percent, according to Rose.
This is the third arrest by CDF”s Arson Investigation Unit in Northern California this summer. Arrests have also been made and prosecution is under way with serial arsonists in Contra Costa and Shasta Counties, Rose said.
Yolo County Superior Justice Sylvia Husing set Eason”s bail at $500,000 and a formal bail review is scheduled for Oct. 24, with Eason”s preliminary hearing set for Oct. 27.
Contact Cynthia Davis at cdavis@record-bee.com.
