SGV Men Admit Guilt In Setting Glendora Dam Brush Fire

GLENDORA, CA — Two San Gabriel Valley men admitted to starting a brush fire last summer that burned nearly a quarter-acre of brush near Morris Dam north of Glendora in the summer of 2018, officials said.

On Thursday, both Christopher Paul Ortega of Glendora, 21, and Santino Francisco Gnaulati of Covina, 22, pleaded no contest to one count each of recklessly causing a fire, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Ortega was immediately sentenced to 16 months behind bars, while Gnaulati was ordered to serve 180 days in county jail and three years probation, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The two started the fire near Highway 39 in the San Gabriel Mountains last Aug. 7, according to prosecutors.

The fire was reported by a passerby just before 3 a.m. that day, Nathan Judy of the U.S. Forest Service said shortly after the blaze.

"Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze ... using ground crews and night flying helicopters from the Forest (Service) and L.A. County," Judy said.

The person who reported the fire saw two people in a turnout near Morris Dam and followed their white GMC pickup truck, noting its license place number.

The U.S. Forest Service thanked both the Azusa police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for their assistance, saying that it was with their help that the vehicle was located and two suspects were arrested.

Renee Schiavone photo