LAKEPORT >> Two men originally suspected by investigators seeking the cause of the Valley Fire will not face charges. Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson announced this week that the Grand Jury had determined that John Alfred Pinch and Parker Charles Mills should not be subject to further examination toward felony charges.
“The Grand Jury was precise,” Anderson said. “It was even ironic that three people on the Grand Jury lost their homes during the fire and they voted that we should not prosecute; they understood.”
A thorough examination of the cause of 2015’s Valley Fire — at the time the state’s third most destructive blaze — began almost immediately after the fire swept through Cobb, Middletown and Hidden Valley, killing four people. Cal Fire pinpointed an improper electrical hook up for an outdoor hot tub and handed the case over to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office on August 29, 2016.
Both Pinch and Mills’ families lived on the property where the suspect hot tub was installed.
The investigation asserted that a year before the fire, Pinch completed an electrical installation for the hot tub that was intended to be temporary. Eventually the hot tub stopped working. The report alleged neither Pinch nor Mills found a resolution.
Cal Fire’s report showed more than one problem with the installation and wiring including an unsecured junction box, a hazardous connection between wires, and a 17-inch difference in proper underground pipework. The investigative expert hired by Cal Fire determined the fire was caused by “a thermal-resistance heating at the wire nut because of a poor electrical connection. This caused the wire to melt and arc at a temperature of 1,981 degrees, thus catching the dry grass on fire.”
The District Attorney said no inspector checked the setup because no one acquired the necessary permits for the hot tub.
Pinch and Mills informed investigators that they were not at the property until after the fire and stated the faulty wiring was not connected to the junction box. Investigators could not determine whether that was the case. Neither could they confirm whether circuit breakers were on or off.
“In either event, if there was no electricity running to the junction box then there was no immediate hazard condition. It would have taken an intervening cause in order to make this wiring a hazard,” Anderson said in his report.
Mills was the first to return to the property the morning of the Valley Fire. He gave a statement saying he left the residence without remembering if the electricity had been turned off. His return was considered an intervening cause, to which could acquit criminal liability if the reason is proven “unforeseeable.”
Evidence failed to show whether Mills knew the wiring was considered dangerous and then consciously ignored the risks.
Although no felony crimes were filed against the men, Anderson said minor misdemeanor charges, such as for permit violations, and health and safety violations may be considered. Principal planner Byron Turner for the Lake County Community Development said when facing challenges and questions such as an installation of a hot tub, one can call the Building Department and always obtain a permit and undergo proper inspections.
The district attorney added he would not be surprised if any civil liability cases have already been brought up against Pinch and Miller as a result of “five deaths.”
Anderson explained that four individuals died during the Valley Fire and one Lower Lake man, Robert Litchman, remains a missing person. However, he said, “For our purposes, we can file for this person for criminal cases. For example, if a body is missing for an ‘x’ amount of time, we file this person as dead even if they aren’t declared dead. If we decided to prosecute, I would have chosen to declare the fifth death.”
The Grand Jury decision was not unanimous.
