Man accused of starting King fire allegedly broke into home to call 911

The man accused of “willfully and maliciously” starting the massive King fire in Northern California broke into a home near the ignition point to report the blaze to 911, the owner said.

Wayne Huntsman, 37, was arrested this week and charged Friday with forest-land arson, with a special allegation for aggravating factors because the fire could have caused harm to firefighters and peace officers. He is being held in lieu of $10-million bail.

Ralf Lorenz, who lives in a house that overlooks the ravine where the fire began, was driving back from work Saturday when he got a call from his home security company. When he arrived, law enforcement and fire officials were parked on his lawn.

“They told me they traced the 911 call, and he made the call after he broke the front door,” Lorenz said.

His door was damaged, but nothing was stolen, he added.

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Leikauf said he could not comment on whether Huntsman made the initial 911 call to report the fire.

“I don’t know if that’s accurate, because the investigation is being handled by arson investigators from Cal Fire,” Leikauf said.

Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant declined to say who made the 911 call, citing the ongoing investigation.

“Any comment that we make could jeopardize the case that’s being built right now,” Berlant said. “The important part to us is that we’re able to hold the person who started the fire responsible for it.”

Huntsman has four prior felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft, auto theft and driving under the influence, according to the criminal complaint filed Friday. The most recent charge occurred in 2003.

Since being sparked Saturday, the King fire has raced through 119 square miles of dense, dry forest, becoming the second largest wildfire California has seen so far this year. The blaze was just 10% contained Friday and threatened 12,000 homes in the nearby community of Pollock Pines.

More than 2,800 people have been forced to evacuate, one of them Lorenz.

“I don’t know why he did it,” Lorenz said of the allegations against Huntsman. “I’d like to know what was in his head.”

Follow the reporter on Twitter: @frankshyong