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Colby Fire: 3 men indicted, face federal charges in Glendora blaze
File: A firefighter monitors the Colby Fire burning for a second day on a hillside above Highway 39 in Azusa, California.
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Jonathan Alcorn/Getty Images
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The three men accused of setting the Colby Fire that charred 2,000 acres and destroyed five homes in Glendora have now been been indicted.
A federal grand jury Friday afternoon found there was sufficient evidence to indict the men on two felonies and four misdemeanors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Bettinelli says they set the fire in an area that wasn't designated as a campground
"You should be, number one, within a proper area. Two, you should have a permit. So they were 0 for two," she said. "They did not have a permit, and they were not within a proper area of that region of the Angeles National Forrest."
Police have said that at least one of the men said the fire was started early in the morning Jan. 16 by accident when some paper they were burning blew into the forest. The smoky fire spread quickly and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of homes.
Bettinelli says the men face up to five-and-a-half years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Clifford Eugene Henry Jr., Steven Robert Aguirre and Jonathan Carl Jarrell are due to appear in Los Angeles federal court for their arraignment on Feb. 11.
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KPCC was not able to reach representatives of the defendants at the time this was posted; we will continue to try to get a response.
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