'This Place Will Burn': Disturbing Picture of 'Holy Fire' Suspect Emerges as Calif. Blazes Rage On
The man accused of starting the latest fire ravaging California is due in court today.
Forrest Clark, 51, was supposed to be in court on Thursday, but he refused to go.
In a display of bizarre behavior on Tuesday, Clark stripped naked as police questioned him about the fire.
He's charged with setting the "Holy Fire," named for the town, Holy Jim, near where the blaze began. But for the residents it's affecting, the fire is of the devil.
"This shouldn't be called the Holy Jim Fire, it should be called the Holy Hell Fire," says Todd Spitzer, with the Orange County Fire Authority.
At least 20,000 residents have been forced to leave their homes because of the blaze, which is still burning out of control.
Before it began, Clark reportedly sent an email to a neighbor that said, "This place will burn."
Meanwhile, as the Holy Fire rages, firefighters continue battling two others.
"Mother nature is undefeated," a firefighter said, his face covered in soot.
The Mendocino Fire, the largest in state history, is now 51 percent contained, but it's already scorched an area the size of Los Angeles.
And the Carr Fire – which has killed six people, including two firefighters, and burned more than 1,000 homes – is moving into remote forest lands.
That's a relief to homeowners, but drought conditions have firefighters worried the fire will grow.
For the tens of thousands of Californians who have been driven from their homes, the wait to learn what's happened is torture.
"I don't really know how I'm dealing with it yet because I just don't know how things are impacting me completely," says Ren Staple, who was forced to evacuate.
Whipping winds, record-breaking heat, and drought-plagued brush have combined to fuel the historic fires.
Now a smoky haze hovers over much of the state, creating unsafe breathing conditions.
Meanwhile, the months that are historically California's most dangerous fire months are yet to come.
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