Man arrested on suspicion of setting fires that forced shutdown of Highway 18

A 27-year-old man was arrested Monday night on suspicion of setting a pair of brush fires that forced a shutdown of Highway 18 near Crestline, authorities said.

Benjamin Andrew Baptiste, of Cedar Glen, was booked on suspicion of several counts of arson after San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies captured him on the side of the highway shortly after 8 p.m., according to a news release issued by the department.

Deputies responded to the area after receiving several calls about a man who may have been carrying a firearm or ax attempting to set a fire near the intersection of highways 18 and 138, according to the news release. The man was also reportedly throwing rocks at vehicles, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Baptiste is accused of setting one fire on the side of the roadway before running into Lower Bonnie Canyon and setting a second blaze in dense brush below the highway, authorities said.

Out of concern that the suspect was armed, Highway 18 was closed and all traffic was evacuated from the road as deputies established a perimeter, according to the release.

Baptiste was captured without incident and treated for burns to his arms and hands, according to the Sheriff’s Department. He was not actually carrying a firearm as the 911 callers reported, but deputies discovered Baptiste was armed with a hatchet which he discarded before he was arrested, according to Cindy Bachman, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

One of the fires has already been extinguished. The other burned about three acres and was approximately 80% contained as of Tuesday morning, according to the San Bernardino National Forest’s Twitter account.

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UPDATES:

9:15 a.m.: This story was updated with additional information about the weapons Baptiste is accused of carrying.

8:10 a.m.: This story was updated with information about the spread of the fires.

This article was originally published at 7:45 a.m.