On the heels of record-setting heat, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office arrested a 58-year-old man on suspicion of arson on Thursday.
According to an arrest report, officers responded to a call of a suspicious person behind the Tractor Supply store on East William Street around 9:40 p.m. The reporting officer found a small fire fueled by surrounding brush. A man identified as David McCormick was talking to himself and asking for people, according to the arrest report.
“Carson City Fire Department responded and put the fire out that was smoldering,” reads the report.
McCormick was arrested and booked into the Carson City Jail on a felony charge of third-degree arson as well as a misdemeanor charge of violating a suspended sentence. Bail was set at $5,000 for the arson charge and $1,000 for the Department of Alternative Sentencing violation. The case was forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
A heat record was set July 16 when the temperature in Carson City reached 103 degrees. City officials have warned residents to be cautious and safe as fuels like grass and brush dry out. A recent debris fire at the Carson City Landfill reminded emergency personnel and residents fire season has arrived. The landfill fire was extinguished July 17, according to CCFD.