Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On December 9, 2021, at about 2:39 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area of Lucas Street and Myrtle Avenue, in the County’s jurisdiction of Eureka, for the report of a possible arson incident.

According to the reporting party, a male suspect, later identified as 44-year-old Keith Howard Turner, was observed lighting multiple debris fires in a nearby wooded area. Deputies arrived at the location and found three actively burning fires along a trail. Deputies located Turner further down the trail as he was attempting to light another piece of debris on fire.

Humboldt Bay Fire arrived in the area and extinguished the fires, preventing the spread of a possible forest fire.

Turner was arrested without incident and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of arson (PC 451(c)) and violation of probation (PC 1203.2(A)(2)).

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the observant community member who reported this incident and helped protect our community by preventing the spread of fire.

Community members are encouraged to continue reporting suspicious and/or criminal activity to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.