Homeless Man Starts Fire In Wilderness Glen Park: Cops

MISSION VIEJO, CA — Early Wednesday morning the South Homeless Outreach Team of the Mission Viejo Police Services were out on patrol when they smelled smoke.

At 9 a.m., deputies in the area of Los Alisos and Vista Del Lago followed the smoky odor inside Wilderness Glen Park. There they found a homeless man who was warming himself beside the small fire, a Mission Viejo Police Services spokesperson said over Facebook.

The man had built his fire next to a small clearing "surrounded by dense, dry brush," officers reported. The OCSD officers quickly doused the flames and cited the homeless person for starting an illegal fire.

"In addition to the enforcement, we also provided the person with outreach and shelter, as well as social services," they said. The man refused help, telling officers that "he was from Hawaii, and having open fires was legal there."

The unidentified man, who voluntarily left the area immediately afterward, told officers that he did have family in the Mission Viejo area, OCSD officers said.

Mission Viejo Police Services