Crime & Safety
Arson Arrest in Arastradero Preserve Fire
Detectives identified the suspect the day of the fire, then built a case against him.
Palo Alto Police arrested a suspect this morning for allegedly setting last week’s four-acre wildland fire at the Enid W. Pearson-Arastradero Preserve.
Damon Lee Luce, 50, was identified at the scene of the fire on Aug. 8 as possibly playing a role in starting the blaze. Detectives questioned the suspect but released him pending further investigation.
Luce was arrested this morning at his residence, the Industrial Hotel at 505 Cypress Avenue in South San Francisco. He's been booked into the Main Jail in Santa Clara County. His booking photo will not be released until further witness identifications can be made.
Police have not released a motive for Luce allegedly starting the fire, which ignited in five places.
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Firefighters from the Palo Alto Fire Department, Cal Fire, the Santa Clara County Fire Department, and the Woodside Fire Protection District
all battled the blaze, containing it to just four acres. There were no injuries and no structures were lost.
If you have any information about this case, call the dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.
