Bradley woman arrested for allegedly setting fires in the North County

A Bradley woman was arrested Thursday on suspicion of setting fires in the North County over the summer.

Cal Fire law enforcement officers in August began a surveillance investigation into a series of fires in the Lake Nacimiento Drive area that ignited starting in June, according to a Cal Fire news release.

With help from the Kern County Fire Department and the cooperation of the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, officers identified Devorah Collins, 58, as a potential suspect.

During an interview, Collins allegedly admitted to starting several fires, though investigators were able to determine she wasn’t involved in igniting the Chimney Fire, which started Aug. 13 south of Lake Nacimiento and burned 46,344 acres. Cal Fire Capt. Robert Cordova said most of the fires Collins allegedly set burned about one acre.

Collins was arrested on suspicion of eight counts of arson, two counts of manufacturing an incendiary device, two counts of use of a time-delay device, eight counts of arson during a state of emergency and one count of resisting a police officer.

She was booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail and is being held in lieu of $462,000 bail. Cordova said Collins’ high bail likely reflected officials’ “very serious” attitude toward arson. Collins is scheduled to be arraigned in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Monday.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 10:05 AM with the headline "Bradley woman arrested for allegedly setting fires in the North County."