One suspect was arrested on suspicion of starting a two acre brush fire that burned in Morongo Valley yesterday (December 7).
The Morongo Valley Fire Department received a call reporting smoke near Twentynine Palms Highway and Lanning Road at around 3:30 p.m., and when fire crews arrived, they found a slowly spreading brush fire with a significant potential for growth. The MVFD described the blaze as approximately two acres burning near Hawk Valley Road.
The MVFD received assistance from Cal-Fire, San Bernardino County Fire, the Bureau of Land Management, and assistance from a Cal-Fire aircraft to extinguish the blaze
No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, and one suspect was arrested by Sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of arson. Z107.7 has contacted the Sheriff’s Department for information about the suspect and the arrest. We’ll update this story as we learn more.
UPDATED 12/9/24: The Sheriff’s Department identified the suspect in the arson as James Moretti, a 49-year-old Resident of Cathedral City. Deputies say that he confronted fire personnel armed with a knife, threatened them, and prevented them from engaging the fire. Deputies say they saw Moretti using an open flame device in one hand to start additional fires while still wielding a knife in the other, and that he disobeyed commands to drop what he was holding. Deputies say they used force to subdue Moretti, and that he was taken into custody and then transported to a local area hospital for treatment.
James Moretti was arrested on suspicion of arson, making criminal threats and making threats to public officers, resisting arrests, and exhibiting a deadly weapon, and is being held at the West Valley Detention Center on $70,000 bail.
