A former college professor specializing in social deviancy has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for setting four fires in 2021, some of which endangered firefighters battling the Dixie Fire, one of California's largest wildfires.
49-year-old Gary Stephen Maynard pleaded guilty to three counts of arson on federal property after admitting to starting the Cascade and Everitt fires on July 20 and 21, and the Ranch and Conard Fires on Aug. 7. The fires were extinguished before causing damage to any structures.