LAKEPORT >> Months of investigative work by the Lakeport Police Department led to the arrest of Tracey Renee Morales, alleged to have caused a 2016 senior apartment complex fire that killed one woman.
Morales was located in Mendocino County after the Lake County Superior Court issued an arrest warrant on Thursday. She was not immediately taken into custody due to a medical issue.
According to Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen, investigators determined that Morales was smoking while using oxygen on the evening of August 21, 2016. The action ignited a fire that spread through the Lakeview Senior Apartments at 525 Bevins St. in Lakeport.
Law enforcement officers and crews from the Lakeport Fire Protection District arrived quickly and began evacuating residents of the multi-unit complex. Fire Chief Doug Hutchison was on site as crews knocked out the blaze and began searching the building. The fire caused extensive damage throughout.
Deborah Dianne Dowdy, 53, was found dead inside the complex.
LPD Investigators and Fire Investigators from LFPD, assisted by investigators from Northshore Fire, Lake County Fire and CalFire, conducted a cause and origin and criminal investigation of the circumstances of the fire and Dowdy’s death.
In March of this year, the LPD Investigators presented the final reports to the Lake County District Attorney, who filed felony charges of involuntary manslaughter and recklessly causing a fire against Morales.
On Thursday the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office found Morales and issued a notice to appear in Lake County Superior Court to answer to the charges.
