A 71-year-old man was arrested Friday on suspicion of arson for igniting the massive Oak fire in Mariposa County last year that destroyed 127 residences and dozens of outbuildings, prosecutors and investigators announced.
Arson investigators took Edward Frederick Wackerman, a longtime Mariposa resident, into custody without incident after a nearly yearlong extensive probe into the blaze that also consumed 19,244 acres of vegetation, officials said.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials announced that Wackerman was arrested on suspicion of multiple felonies, including aggravated arson, arson that caused great bodily injury and arson that caused damage to an inhabited dwelling. The “investigation is under review by our office,” the Mariposa County district attorney said in statement.
