Clark has pleaded not guilty to setting the August blaze
A flag flies at half staff amid the rubble of homes burned in the Carr Fire, Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Trial has been ordered for a man charged with setting a Southern California wildfire that destroyed more than a dozen homes this summer and forced thousands of people to evacuate.
A judge in Orange County ruled Thursday that there’s enough evidence to try Forrest Gordon Clark for arson and making criminal threats, even though arson investigators testified there wasn’t any physical evidence tying him to the Holy Fire. Two charges of resisting arrest had been dismissed.
Clark has pleaded not guilty to setting the August blaze that burned cabins in Holy Jim Canyon and swept through a vast area of Orange and Riverside counties.
Authorities allege that Clark had been feuding with and threatening a neighbor and set fire to the man’s cabin, sparking the blaze. Only Clark’s cabin survived.
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