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Alleged Arsonist Arrested In Fatal California Fire

Garrett Frey/CalFire

A man has been arrested for arson for starting two small fires that joined and erupted into the fatal Clover Fire in Northern California in September.

Zane Wallace Peterson was arrested Tuesday on several charges, including suspicion of murder, arson on forest lands, and arson causing great bodily injury, according to Scott McLean, a fire captain with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The fire, which destroyed homes and killed one man, was contained within a week after it scorched more than 8,000 acres. Cal Fire spent about $7.3 million to extinguish the fire.

Peterson also was arrested on suspicion of starting six other fires between September and November of this year.

Peterson is a former firefighter in the North State