NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Clearlake man was sentenced to seven years in state prison Jan. 31 for setting a fire last summer on Cow Mountain, the rugged recreation area straddling a mountain ridge separating Mendocino and Lake counties.
Kevin Louis Benback-Calhoun, 24, admitted one of two arson charges back on Dec. 12 in Mendocino County Superior Court, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office.
Officials said Benback-Calhoun also admitted to using an accelerant to amplify the fire.
On the motion of prosecutor Scott McMenomey, a second arson count was dismissed with an agreement that Benback-Calhoun shall be responsible for firefighting costs incurred to fight both fires.
The district attorney and state fire officials are going back into court in early March, according to McMenomey, to obtain a restitution order for nearly $1 million for fire suppression costs relating to the two Cow Mountain fires.
McMenomey said the restitution hearing will be heard on 1:30 p.m. March 11 in Mendocino County Superior Court.
“We’re talking about significant costs resulting from the use helicopters, an assortment of other equipment, and firefighting crews that were needed to keep these fires from destroying structures and spreading into nearby residential areas,” reported McMenomey.
The first of the two fires – the fire for which Benback-Calhoun was officially sentenced – broke out on June 27 at the intersection of the Cow Mountain access road and Mill Creek Road east of Ukiah.
The second fire broke out on July 28 off of Mill Creek Road near Now Cow Mountain and scorched approximately 400 acres.
The smoke columns from these fires and fire fighting efforts were watched with concern by people throughout the Ukiah valley. While Cow Mountain is a largely remote recreational area, its proximity to the urban fringes of the Ukiah Valley is historically of concern.
Calhoun’s arrest and prosecution was the result of a cooperative investigation by the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office, Cal Fire, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the Clearlake Police Department and the Ukiah office of the California Highway Patrol.