Homeless man charged with arson in Dove Fire in Sonora

One of Mariposa County officials nightmare scenarios played out last week in neighboring Tuolumne County where officials say a homeless man started a wildfire that came dangerously close to downtown Sonora.

Jacob Hoskins was charged July 29 with arson and recklessly causing a fire.

The Dove Fire began around 3 p.m. July 26 in an area around Highway 108 and Mill Villa Road. The fire burned 226 areas and came precariously close to downtown Sonora.

Neighbors captured photo and video images of the initial fire, showing a man wearing a straw hat running from the area.

Law enforcement recognized the man as Hopkins, 30, a known transient in Sonora. He was arrested a few hours later in Rotary Park in Sonora wearing the same clothes seen in the photos and videos.

According to law enforcement, Hopkins allegedly admitted he dropped a cigarette into dry grass and fled the area.

Hoskins told deputies he spent a decade working as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service.

The Dove Fire spread quickly through dry brush and led to mandatory evacuations and road closures near Sonora. The fire torched several trailers and city owned property.

Two firefighters were injured fighting the blaze.

The fire was particularly dangerous to fight because of old mine shafts in the area, said Emily Kilgore, a public information officer for CAL FIRE Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit.

The National Weather Service has issued warnings that the fire danger will continue through the next week in the Sierra Foothills with temperature in the triple digits.

In the last two months, Mariposa County officials have openly dreaded the possibility an unhoused person might start a fire along Mariposa Creek, an area thick with dry brush where deputies have removed several homeless encampments.

The concerns were only heightened when the county’s only emergency homeless shelter closed last month.