Police arrest Clearlake woman for theft of firefighting equipment
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake Police Department said it has located some of the fire hose and other equipment reported stolen from the Lake County Fire Protection District earlier this month and arrested a local woman in connection to the case.
On June 21, a fire was reported in the area of Wilkinson Avenue and Dam Road. Lake County Fire Protection District personnel responded and eventually extinguished the fire which grew to about 25 acres in size. This fire led to the evacuation of nearby homes which were threatened.
The Lake County Fire Protection District was able to extinguish the fire and remained in the area for several days, as Lake County News has reported.
Sgt. Ryan Peterson said that after the fire incident, Fire Chief Willie Sapeta contacted the Clearlake Police Department and reported that approximately 4,000 feet of wildland fire hose along with fixtures, nozzles, connectors and other fire equipment had been stolen during the incident.
Chief Sapeta said that after the fire was extinguished, fire personnel left fire hose connected in the area to assist if there was a flareup from the fire. This is a common practice which allows fire personnel to quickly get to a flareup without having to unravel hose and make connections.
Since the theft, 1,100 feet of the hose and some of the connectors had been located piled in the area, Peterson said.
On Saturday, a five-acre fire was reported in the area of Dam Road and Lake Street. The cause of that fire is still under investigation.
Radio traffic indicated some of the hose was found, Sapeta told Lake County News that only a few lengths of the hose was found at that time.
On Sunday, Peterson said Officer Chris Kelleher was conducting followup regarding the theft in the area of the 16100 block of Dam Road when he observed some of the stolen hose on a property and contacted the resident, Rebecca Moresi, 31.
Peterson said Moresi admitted to going into the fire zone and taking the hose along with connectors.
Moresi told Kelleher that she has a pump on her property and she was going to use the items for her personal use, Peterson said.
Peterson said Kelleher placed Moresi under arrest on probable cause for taking the equipment.
Due to the Lake County Superior Court’s emergency bail schedule, Moresi was issued a signed promise to appear with a later court date, Peterson said.
The stolen equipment — which included 400 feet of hose, a connector and nozzle — was collected and turned over to the fire department, Peterson reported.
Peterson said the Clearlake Police Department is continuing the investigation and attempting to locate the remainder of the stolen equipment.
Anyone with information regarding the theft or location of the stolen property is asked to contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251.