Photo: Stock Image
At approximately 10:50 a.m on Sunday, June 25th, a vegetation fire erupted in the grassland acres in close proximity to Allan Hancock College and the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex.
The response from the Lompoc City Fire Department was swift, with firefighting crews quickly on the scene and summoning the assistance of both ground crews and a water-dropping helicopter to combat the blaze.
To bolster the firefighting endeavors, neighboring departments, including the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and Vandenberg Fire Department, promptly dispatched additional resources and initiated an arson investigation.
At approximately 11:24 AM, Lompoc Police Department officers responded to the community’s now defunct and non-operational drive-in theater where they made contact with 31-year-old Lompoc resident Claudio Nava Santiago. According to Lompoc Fire Department spokesman Chief Brian Fallon, the ensuing investigation indicated that “Santiago was present at the outset of the fire” and was responsible for igniting the conflagration.
Santiago was taken into custody without incident and transported to Lompoc City Jail, where he was booked on a charge of arson with his bail set at $50,000.
