California fire disaster forces dozens of state parks to close; arson suspect arrested

The wildfires devastating California have forced the full and partial closure of dozens of state parks.

Meanwhile, authorities announced the arrest of one individual suspected of carrying out arson at a state park in the region.

Tens of thousands of residents of the Los Angeles metropolitan area have lost their homes after half a dozen wildfires devastated hillsides and adjacent neighborhoods. Unusually strong Santa Ana winds and months of zero rainfall contributed to the unprecedented disaster.

California state parks announced that they have arrested a 60-year-old woman. The suspect is alleged to have set a fire at Carrillo State Park in Los Angeles County on January 8. Officials said the fire was quickly suppressed by the fire department.

“The suspect, Gloria Lynn Mandich, 60, was taken into custody on suspicion of starting the fire and booked into Ventura County Jail on a felony charge of arson under Penal Code 451(d),” California State Parks said in a release. “She is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court today.”

State parks throughout the region are closed as authorities struggle to contain the disaster. Many of them have suffered serious damage.

According to California State Parks, the public parks that it manages in southern California that are currently closed indefinitely include: Chino Hill State Park, Los Encinos State Historic Park, Malibu Creek State Park, Malibu Lagoon State Beach, Topanga State Park, and Will Rogers State Historic Park.

Topanga and Will Rogers have suffered “severe damage” the state agency reported.

The closures are felt far from the epicenter of the disaster.

Given historic dry conditions and the risk of more wildfires, authorities have fully closed 20 state parks stretching from the Mexico border all the way to northern California. 26 other state parks are now partially closed.

Reasons cited for some of the park closures include the ongoing fire devastation but also past fire damage. Further north, California State Parks says flooding has forced them to shutter a few of the units under their control.