A 46-year-old man who had threatened to harm his brother’s dog then escalated an ongoing family dispute by burning down the house in Crestline on Saturday, July 4, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
Firefighters had to abandon a parade they were participating in to battle the blaze.
Deputies went to the home on Arth Drive about 9 a.m. after someone reported a disturbance, said Jenny Smith, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
When they arrived, the person who called 911 said his brother had made “criminal threats” against the dog, Smith said.
The brother refused deputies’ commands to leave the home, Smith said.
About an hour passed before the deputies entered, and when they did, they found the living room ablaze. Deputies were able to put out the fire, but a second blaze at the back of the home was out of control.
Firefighters had been rolling through nearby streets as part of the Crestline Jamboree Days Parade, which started at 10 a.m., when they got called to the fire, said Capt. Eric Sherwin, a San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman.
Firefighters turned on their emergency lights and sirens, and some people at the parade thought it was part of the performance, Sherwin said.
The flames engulfed the home before they could be extinguished.
The brother was eventually arrested, jailed on suspicion of aggravated arson, and he remained in custody on Tuesday, July 7 in lieu of $1 million bail.