A 39-year-old man accused of sparking a deadly fire in Shasta County has made his first court appearance since his extradition. Cal-Fire says that on July 11th of 2014 Freddie Smoke the Third was driving a large rental truck to deliver fertilizer to a marijuana grow site near Ono. When he drove into the dry grass the truck’s hot tailpipe ignited what became the “Bully Fire”. It destroyed 20 structures and burned over 12,600 acres. Smoke was arrested and then released on bail before the discovery of a body in the fire zone on July 16th. 35-year-old Jesus Arellano Garcia died while trying to escape the fire. Additional charges were filed against smoke but he was long gone by then. Smoke had moved to East Chicago, Indiana, where he was arrested September 27th and extradited back to Shasta County to face charges including involuntary manslaughter. Smoke’s preliminary hearing was set for Wednesday but he appeared in court Tuesday with a new attorney, who requested a continuance. He’ll be back in court November 22nd.
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