– By F. Scott Faulkner
GOLETA, CA — May 20, 2026
Authorities arrested a 19-year-old Goleta man for arson on May 19th, after a vegetation fire on the city’s western edge was traced back to him playing with illegal fireworks.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer
Raquel Zick, “the fire broke out along Farren Road and burned about an acre before
firefighters were able to stop its spread.”
The blaze also prompted evacuation warnings
for a nearby neighborhood as crews worked to keep the flames from threatening homes.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies immediately began investigating the source of
ignition, speaking with a witness who identified “a vehicle seen leaving the area where
the fire started.”
Deputies made contact with the vehicle’s driver. The ensuing search of the vehicle,
driven by 19-year-old Goleta resident Alex Karim Henin, led to the discovery of “a
package containing three illegal fireworks, along with evidence indicating that
additional fireworks had previously been removed from the packaging,.”
Henin was taken into custody and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he
was booked on a charge of arson and possession of illegal fireworks and possession of
fireworks without a permit.
