By F. Scott Faulkner
October 16, 2026 | Santa Barbara, Calif.
A 43-year-old Santa Barbara man was arrested Oct. 15 after allegedly admitting to setting three brush fires along a busy residential thoroughfare near a junior high school, police said.
Calletano Bedolla-Bibiano was later linked to four additional fires reported the previous weekend, according to Santa Barbara Police Department spokesman Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale.
Santa Barbara City Fire Department crews were working to extinguish a brush fire near school property when police officers arrived. Officers then discovered a second brush fire burning nearby, close to Santa Barbara Fire Station 5. Police and firefighters worked together to extinguish both fires before they could spread.
While crews were responding to the fires, a patrol officer spotted a third brush fire about a quarter-mile away. Officers responding to the scene encountered Bedolla-Bibiano, who admitted to starting all three fires, authorities said.
Further investigation linked Bedolla-Bibiano to four other fires set the previous weekend near a gas station on State Street, Ragsdale said.
Bedolla-Bibiano was arrested and transported to the Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on multiple counts of arson. He remained in custody without bail, authorities said.
