![]() ![]() Forest Service agents also measured and recorded data about the tire tread pattern left by Maynard's car - evidence that they say ties him to a string of arson wildfires. The investigator kept his distance from Maynard, citing the man's "uncooperative and agitated behavior." But he took a picture of his car, and the license plate number led to Maynard. After the man returned, the witness recalled, smoke from the Cascade Fire became visible. The witness said the man had walked off in the direction of where the fire eventually ignited, returning around 10 minutes later. He also noticed that on a dirt road 150-200 yards from the fire, a man was struggling to free his car, a black Kia Soul, after the vehicle's rear had failed to clear a partially buried boulder.Ī witness told investigators that the man, later identified as Maynard, had arrived several hours before the fire started, court records show. A mountain biker in those remote woods had noticed signs of a fire, called 911 and then worked to limit the fire's spread.Ī USFS fire investigator determined the Cascade Fire was likely the result of arson. On July 20, Maynard was spotted near the scene of the Cascade Fire, on the western slopes of Mt. Maynard also has connections to other schools, from Stony Brook University in New York (where he received his doctorate) to Santa Clara University, where he also taught. ![]() His teaching and research, the school said, focuses on topics that include the "sociology of health, deviance and crime" and environmental sociology. Last fall, he taught in the criminology and criminal justice department at Sonoma State University, which says in its official bio for Maynard that he has three master's degrees and a Ph.D. Maynard, 47, is a former professor who has taught at colleges in New York and California, according to online records. ![]() Maynard was identified after his car got stuck near a fire If it weren't for the surveillance federal agents were conducting on Maynard, the fires would have been much worse and the risk to firefighters would have been greater, the document states. Maynard's alleged offenses "show that he is particularly dangerous, even among arsonists," the federal prosecutors said. It added, "Maynard's fires were placed in the perfect position to increase the risk of firefighters being trapped between fires." Attorney's Office in Sacramento said in court papers. "He entered the evacuation zone and began setting fires behind the first responders fighting the Dixie fire," the U.S. It's one of three fires officials say Maynard set in recent days - all of them very close to the Dixie Fire's northeastern footprint. That blaze broke out on Saturday morning, in a remote area where, according to court records, Maynard had just camped for the night. While court documents allege that Maynard is connected to more than a half-dozen dangerous fires in Northern California, he is currently charged with starting only the Ranch Fire. Not just once, but over and over again," the government said in a court memorandum arguing for Maynard to be denied bail. They allege former college professor Gary Maynard is the culprit, citing their tracking of his movements and other evidence. Firefighters battling the Dixie Fire have also been facing a second enemy: a serial arsonist who went on a spree of setting fires in July and August - and who sought to trap fire crews with his fires, according to agents from the U.S. ![]()
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