Arson Suspect In King Fire Has Links To Santa Cruz County

A man suspected of deliberately starting the massive King Fire burning east of Sacramento has prior felony convictions in Santa Cruz County, El Dorado County prosecutors said today.

Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, of Pollock Pines was arrested Wednesday and charged with arson for allegedly setting the fire, which had grown to nearly 71,000 acres as of this morning, according to Cal Fire.

Two people have been injured and more than 2,000 residences and 1,500 other structures are threatened by the fast-moving wildfire, but none have yet been destroyed, Cal Fire officials said.

So far 3,000 people have been evacuated as 3,600 firefighters work to contain the fire.

It was only 5 percent contained as of this morning. Huntsman “willfully and maliciously” set a forest area on fire near Pollock Pines on Saturday, according to charging documents filed today in El Dorado County.

He has connections to Santa Cruz County, and was convicted of assault and grand theft there in 1997.

--Bay City News