September 13, 2021 - On Wednesday, August 8, 2021, shortly after 6:00 P.M., the Madera County Sheriff’s Communications Center received a call for service reporting a fire and large amount of smoke coming from the area of Meadow Vista Drive and Junction Drive.

MCSO Sergeant Wilder and Deputy Vermeulen responded to the location along with CAL Fire personnel and arson investigators. When responding units arrived on scene, they observed an adult male deliberately fueling an active fire.

The fire was extinguished before it reached any of the surrounding structures in the area. The male was later identified as 31-year-old Jacob Helm, an unhoused Madera County resident. Helm was arrested and booked into the Madera County Jail multiple felony charges including felony arson and starting a fire during a state of an emergency.

Sheriff Tyson Pogue states, “I commend the rapid response to this fire, which had the potential to threaten various structures, surrounding vegetation, and businesses in the area. First responders’ swift action prevented an incident like 2014’s Junction Fire that started in the same area and burned 614 acres. This was a fine example of outstanding work by our Madera County allied agencies.”

Source: Madera County Sheriff's Office