California Man Arrested for Starting Multiple Wildfires and Destroying Homes

A 71-year-old man, Edward Fredrick Wackerman, has been arrested on suspicion of starting the July 2022 Oak fire in California, which burned over 19,000 acres of vegetation and more than 125 residential buildings. The arrest was made by Cal Fire law enforcement officers, the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Forest Service law enforcement, the National Park Service's law enforcement, Madera County District Attorney investigators, the Mariposa County District Attorney's office, the California Department of Justice Attorney General's office, and the FBI. Wackerman faces multiple felony charges, including suspicion of aggravated arson, arson that caused great bodily injury, and arson causing damage or destruction of inhabited structures.