A Suspected Arsonist, a Wildfire, and California’s Failure to Protect the Public
Suspected arsonist Brandon Glasgo is homeless with a history of arrests and mental health problems.
Earlier this year, one of my clients had to evacuate a building because of a wildfire that began in an adjacent valley.
This weekend, another wildfire started in the same area. Interestingly, police have arrested a man on suspicion of arson in connection with this blaze.
A cigarette-smoking poker dealer has been unmasked as the alleged firebug behind a 131-acre blaze that threatened homes and forced evacuations in San Diego.
Brandon Glasgo, 30, was arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the Sorrento Fire — which erupted Sunday afternoon and quickly tore through the Peñasquitos Creek area, according to San Diego police.
Glasgo, who worked as a poker dealer at Jamul Casino Resort, was taken into custody Monday morning.
Police have not revealed what allegedly sparked the blaze or disclosed further details about the accusations against Glasgo, who is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
Here is video of the suspect arrested for allegedly starting the Sorrento Fire in California, which is still burning & forced San Diegans to evacuate their homes.
We don’t have to live like this.
Court records show the 30-year-old has been in and out of the criminal justice… pic.twitter.com/WiVoGEAime
— Amy Reichert (@amyforsandiego) August 18, 2026
As I noted in my previous review of arsons and wildfires, the forensic literature on arson is blunt about who is lighting these fires. Studies of arrested and referred arsonists consistently find that 54 to 90 percent have diagnosable psychiatric histories, with schizophrenia rates more than 20 times higher than the general population and substance abuse present in roughly two-thirds of cases.
It turns out Glasgo is homeless, with a history of arrests and mental health problems.
SDPD spokesperson Officer Colin Steinbroner said shortly after the fire started, officers were flagged down by an individual who said they had seen someone suspicious near the fire start area. The man, later identified as Glasgo, was detained and later arrested. He was in custody Monday with a bail set at $75,000, according to jail records.
Glasgo’s father said his son is mentally ill and homeless. Court records obtained by NBC San Diego show Glasgo has been arrested multiple times for chargest that include felony battery and resisting arrest.
The Sorrento Fire sparked around 3:15 p.m. between Sorrento Valley Boulevard and Carmel Mountain Road and grew to about 130 acres within a few hours, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. It was halted just before 7 p.m. By Monday evening, the scorched acreage was updated to 138 acres and containment increased to 60%.
Arson suspect remains jailed as Sorrento Fire reaches 60% containment https://t.co/gqS11Qg1gY
— ABC 10News San Diego (@10News) August 18, 2026
San Diego fire crews are still working to completely contain the fire.
By late Tuesday, crews had the fire 75% contained, a significant increase from the 25% containment reported over the weekend, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
“Crews continue to make good progress, building nearly a mile of handline and adding 2,300 feet of hose line to help secure the perimeter,” according to a SDFD statement. “Fire crews will continue patrols overnight. 150 personnel will return tomorrow for continued mop-up.”
Glasgo was being held at the San Diego Central Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail pending his arraignment, which is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
This fire was contained, but San Diegans should not mistake that outcome for an acceptable status quo. This allegedly deliberate act had the potential to trigger the rapid unemployment of more than 100 people, devastate nearby businesses, and put residents, workers, and evacuees directly in the path of a fast-moving wildfire.
The response to this suspected arson also pulled fire crews, engines, and other emergency resources away from the rest of the city, leaving them unavailable for the next medical emergency, structure fire, collision, or brush fire.
Furthermore, if the prevailing winds or weather conditions had been slightly different, the consequences could have been disastrous for the surrounding community. San Diego got a real break, inasmuch as the day was relatively cool and the air humid. If this fire had started in, let’s say, October, Santa Ana winds could have allowed the blaze to ignite into a Los Angeles-like disaster.
As it was, the fire heavily damaged one of the loveliest wild areas in this portion of San Diego, Peñasquitos Valley. It is one of my favorite hiking spots. My client is now trying to figure out what to do about the coyotes that moved into its parking lot after the earlier fire.
We do not have to live like this.
Californians should not tolerate local or state leadership that allows untreated severe mental illness, chronic homelessness, repeat criminal conduct, and public-safety failures to compound until they become a regional emergency.
Compassion must include protecting the public, enforcing laws, providing meaningful treatment, and refusing to normalize preventable danger as simply another feature of life in California. In other words, we need climate change…but the political kind.
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Comments
131 acre fire is nothing there. Sounds like under control. Homeless crazies (junkies because they self medicate) are existential threat to both urban and rural california. State is open air asylum.
How exactly does someone with a record get a job at a casino?
I was wondering how someone could be homeless and a casino dealer at the same time. Obviously, these were jobs he had before he fell off the deep end.
If you look at his record in the Tweet, all his crimes start three years ago.
When the left said you were replaceable apparently they didn’t just mean in the voting booth.
Make arson a death penalty offense. It is happening all over the western US.
I live in SoCal. Fire is an endemic part of the environment here. Pre-European, the place burned every 20 years or so. Europeans put out fires, so the brush builds up to an unnatural level. When it does burn, Mother Nature plays catch up.
This isn’t really full on fire season, yet. That occurs in October, when everything is dead dry, rains haven’t started and we get the hot, dry Santa Ana winds.
So, we have the whole place basically a fire hazard.
I look at the fire patterns. You get a fire started, whatever reason. Naturally, you get secondary fires downwind started by embers. Embers can go a mile or two. Expected. BUT. You suddenly see fires start that AREN’T downwind. My long suspicion is that these are fire bugs—like this guy.
The authorities seem never to identify them as such. My suspicion is that they don’t want to give people ideas. (I am fine with that, if true). The only time they say much is in the rare case, like this one, where they catch someone.
In Los Angeles, homeless arsonists set approximately 14,000 fires per year. My friend firefighter goes on 2X day to put one out. I don’t know what the figure is for San Diego but I’m sure it’s huge.
We don’t have to live like this, true. So why do we?
“A Suspected Arsonist, a Wildfire, and California’s Failure to Protect the Public”
…walk into a bar…
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