Arson suspect arrested, accused of starting OC brush fire

A man was arrested and booked on suspicion of arson for allegedly starting a brush fire in Orange County near the 91 freeway Monday and investigators are looking for witnesses who may have seen him set the blaze.

More than 70 firefighters were able to extinguish the 3-acre Gypsum Fire at about 6 p.m. Monday evening after flames erupted south of the 91 freeway and west of Gypsum County Road. Fire authorities received calls from witnesses who said they say a man lighting fires in the area and Victor Luis Flores, a 22-year-old transient, was later arrested by the Anaheim Police Department and booked on three counts of arson, according to an Anaheim PD news release.

Anaheim Police are asking any witnesses who may have seen Flores setting fires to call Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS or visit www.occrimestoppers.org.

The Gypsum Fire was one of three small brush fires in Orange County on Monday, according to Capt. Larry Kurtz of the Orange County Fire Authority. The first brush fire broke out after a radio controlled aircraft collided with a power pole in Trabuco Canyon, but that was quickly extinguished by about 3 p.m., Kurtz told KPCC. 

The third fire occurred in Brea near Tonner Canyon and Brea Boulevard shortly after 9 p.m. The blaze briefly threatened a structure owned by a trucking company that had to be evacuated but it was quickly knocked down and only burned about 1/2 an acre.

Heavy rain earlier in the year has contributed to an increase in grass growth that dries out in the summer and increases the risk of brush fires, Kurtz said. 

"You have a lot of these small, fast-moving fires," Kurtz said. "It's not an intense fire, but it moves very, very quickly."