Suspected arsonist caught on camera in Gorman

GORMAN, Calif. (KABC) -- A suspected arsonist was arrested after he was caught on camera running around, setting off wildfires in the Gorman area.

A second-alarm fire erupted near N. 270th Street and Highway 138 at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Photographer Bernie Deyo witnessed a shirtless man running through a field on fire in the area, and at one point the man was sitting down and screaming. Deyo pulled out his phone and began to live stream what he was seeing.

"I couldn't tell if it was dirt or if he was burned, but he was definitely burned on his back, but he was not making a lot of sense - yelling, flailing his arms, wandering through the fields. His mom began chasing him over here, and he had some type of ignition device in his hand that he was starting his fires with, and he kept yelling to us and kept yelling to no one," Deyo explained.

It all went on as he spoke with 911 operators, desperate to get help there before things got even worse.

The fire was eventually contained to about 15 acres.

A lieutenant with the Santa Clarita Sheriff's Station said the suspect, later identified as 27-year-old David Artiaga, was booked on a charge of arson. His bail was set at $50,000.