Boy Jailed 1 Hour for Fire

A 12-year-old boy who sparked a San Clemente brush fire that destroyed six homes last summer was ordered by a judge Friday to spend a day in juvenile hall and pay restitution to his victims.

The youth, who lives in El Paso but was visiting San Clemente when he set the fire on Aug. 1, tossed burning matches into dry brush at the bottom of Trafalgar Canyon near the San Clemente Pier. Prosecutors said the boy wanted to see what a large fire looked like but did not intend to set fire to the entire canyon, causing more than $4 million in damage.

They said the short stay in custody is intended to “scare” the boy straight but that a more serious punishment isn’t warranted because the fire was essentially an accident.

“We wanted him to feel what it was like in jail, to hear those doors closing behind him,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Joe Williams. “Hopefully, it’s an experience that will make him think.”

Deputies escorted the boy to a holding cell immediately after the Friday morning court hearing. He was set free less than an hour later, according to his attorney, John Barnett. Prosecutors said any portion of a day in juvenile hall fulfilled the judge’s sentence.

The judge also ordered the youth, whose name was not released, to perform 200 hours of community service, undergo counseling and remain on probation for as long as nine years, until his 21st birthday.

The county’s probation department will determine in the next two months how much the boy and his parents will be asked to pay in restitution. It is unlikely the sum will near the value of the damage because the boy doesn’t have the money. However, the boy’s parents may be subject to civil court demands for damages.

Prosecutors said it was difficult to craft the punishment for the boy given the circumstances.

When the boy realized the fire was getting too large, he tried to stomp it out, prosecutors said. When that failed, he ran to tell nearby lifeguards. “It’s a tragedy that people lost an entire life’s worth of memories and valuables for a stupid thing,” said Williams. “It was just a 12-year-old kid playing with fire who didn’t intend for it to get out of control.”

Both sides agreed the punishment was appropriate.

“I feel a common correct solution was reached and an appropriate conclusion was reached,” Barnett said. “He’s a young boy and he was appropriately impressed by the magnitude of the situation.”