Suspect starts brush fire in California state park while fleeing sheriff’s deputies

A man with a sword fleeing Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies started a brush fire during his attempt to get away, authorities said.

The wild sequence of events started when deputies received a report of a “suspect exhibiting odd behavior” on Wednesday at El Capitan Canyon Resort. While they were headed to the scene, the suspect tried to drive away on a dirt road, but his vehicle got stuck.

The suspect, later identified as 40-year-old Simon Khalili from Woodland Hills, then disappeared into a nearby canyon, the Sheriff’s Department announced in a news release.

A few minutes later, flames erupted from the area, the department said. Around the time the fire broke out, deputies looking for the suspect learned he was allegedly armed with a sword — which would pose a danger to firefighters who needed to attack the fire before it raced out of control.

With deputies as their protection, firefighters moved into the area to battle the flames while a helicopter dropped water on it from overhead, authorities said. A K9 unit was called in to help with the search and a helicopter oversaw the scene.

Khalili surrendered himself to deputies around 7:30 p.m., about two hours after the chase began, and they turned him over to authorities with California State Parks. The fire was stopped at roughly 1 acre about 10 minutes after Khalili was captured.

Khalili was booked into a county jail on suspicion of felony arson and misdemeanor trespassing, brandishing a weapon, and negligent fire setting, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

He’s being held in lieu of a $75,000 bail.