Two Ceres teenagers were arrested two days after they admitted to setting a fire that caused significant damage to a vacant house on Evans Road.
Fire officials say the 9:12 a.m. fire set at 2024 Evans Road on Tuesday, Sept. 18 caused an estimated $140,000 damage.
Ceres Police Detective Tanya Smith said she arrested two 16-year-old boys who were seen fleeing from the scene. They were arrested Thursday and booked into Juvenile Hall on arson charges. Additional charges of trespassing may be forwarded by the District Attorney's office.
The boys are residents of the neighborhood and are Community School students, said Smith. Their identifies were not released.
Fire Chief Brian Nicholes said the boys used a lighter to set an open flame under the covered patio. Flames then traveled into the attic of the boarded-up house causing a "fair amount of structural damage from then roof line up," said Nicholes.
Making it difficult for firefighters to access the 36-year-old house was the fact that the living room ceiling had a half-inch-thick tongue-and-groove wooden application which kept the attic flames hot. Firefighters had a difficult time venting the fire and had to use chain saws to make access to get hoses on the fire, he said.
Fire officials say the 9:12 a.m. fire set at 2024 Evans Road on Tuesday, Sept. 18 caused an estimated $140,000 damage.
Ceres Police Detective Tanya Smith said she arrested two 16-year-old boys who were seen fleeing from the scene. They were arrested Thursday and booked into Juvenile Hall on arson charges. Additional charges of trespassing may be forwarded by the District Attorney's office.
The boys are residents of the neighborhood and are Community School students, said Smith. Their identifies were not released.
Fire Chief Brian Nicholes said the boys used a lighter to set an open flame under the covered patio. Flames then traveled into the attic of the boarded-up house causing a "fair amount of structural damage from then roof line up," said Nicholes.
Making it difficult for firefighters to access the 36-year-old house was the fact that the living room ceiling had a half-inch-thick tongue-and-groove wooden application which kept the attic flames hot. Firefighters had a difficult time venting the fire and had to use chain saws to make access to get hoses on the fire, he said.
