Authorities still on the lookout for suspected arsonist

Authorities are still on the lookout for a suspected arsonist who they say has burned down close to a dozen haystacks in the last two months.

Early Monday morning, firefighters responded to a haystack fire in Heber. Firefighters said by the time they arrived, it was too late.

Imperial County Deputy Fire Chief Salvador Flores said, “There was nothing they could do to begin salvage operations on it. So they had to pretty much protect the exposures around and drown at this point.”

Law enforcement agencies fear that the worst is yet to come.

“Typically arsonists tend to get courageous as they go through the process. They start small and as they get more excitement out of it they start to move more into the bigger things,” said Salvador.

Robert Lizarraga, who is familiar with cultivating hay, said a lot of blood and sweat goes into the process.

“It takes about a month and a half for the hay to grow and then it takes about a week for them to process it and cut it and bale it and stuff. And then put it up on the bus side of the road. It’s quite a bit of money,” said Lizarraga.

Each haystack can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Adding more pressure to the fear his haystack could be next to go up in flames.

Lizarraga said, “Yeah, cause it’s so close. So we patrol it all the time.”

Community members can do their part to help authorities catch those responsible.

Salvador added, “It’s a felony at this point. So I would urge anybody that has any information to please contact us and assist us in putting an end to this.”

The Imperial County Fire Department continues to works with the other local agencies in hopes of tracking this suspected arsonist.