WASCO COUNTY, Ore. — A man indicted earlier this month for setting the Larch Creek Fire in July did not show up for a scheduled arraignment Monday, the Wasco County District Attorney's Office reported. He was taken into custody on an arrest warrant Wednesday.
According to the district attorney's office, the suspect, 51-year-old Christopher Mennealy, was squatting on another person's property on the day the fire started in the area where it started. The district attorney's office did not report details about how Mennealy started the fire.
Mennealy was indicted by a grand jury for second-degree arson and reckless burning on Sept. 4. He was scheduled for arraignment on Monday morning but did not show up. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
On Wednesday, deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office took Mennealy into custody. He's being held on $20,000 bail pending arraignment on the arrest warrant. It wasn't immediately clear when Mennealy would be taken back to Wasco County to face the arson and reckless burning charges.
The Larch Creek Fire burned more than 18,000 acres, threatened structures, prompted evacuation orders, and ran up more than $14 million in suppression costs. It started July 9 near the community of Friend in Wasco County, about 28 miles south of The Dalles.
