LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. (KERO) — After a fire destroyed a trailer in a Kern County mobile home park, the neighbors there say the person they believe is responsible keeps coming back and threatening to start more fires.
The trouble is quite literally keeping the people who live at the Sunset Trailer Park in Lake Isabella awake at night. They've organized themselves into 24-hour watch shifts, patrolling the property around the clock with baseball bats.
"We're not sleeping. We're staying awake and taking turns patrolling out here to make sure that he's not coming back," said Sunset resident Kimberley Jones.
Jones says that on July 8, 2023, Kern County firefighters responded to a blaze that ultimately destroyed one of the trailers in the park.
"I was really freaked out from it, because, like I said, I have PTSD from the French Fire because I lost my home in it," said Jones.
Sunset resident Raymond Smithson remembers the chaos of the fire.
"Some people are freaking out, screaming and hollering, and we hear explosions over there like propane tanks are going off, the flames are starting to climb higher up the tree," described Smithson.
"A lot of people were very upset because we know it was done intentionally," added Jones.
Sunset Park residents say the alleged arsonist is the boyfriend of a former resident and they have identified him from security footage.
Multiple residents say that since the July 8 fire, the alleged arsonist has repeatedly returned to the trailer park, making threats to set more of the mobile homes on fire.
"I'm afraid he's going to come in here, and he's said it to multiple people, that he's going to come in and finish the job and burn everybody out," said Jones.
The owner of the property confirmed that the man residents have identified as the arsonist has shown up to the property repeatedly.
The park houses about 10 residents, including Patrick Jones, and they say wish law enforcement could do more about it.
"Right now, there is so much turmoil that you can't even think," said Jones. "We're devoid of sleep. We stay up all night watching for this guy."
Smithson says he realizes law enforcement is understaffed, but he thinks someone repeatedly coming and threatening to burn down multiple people's homes over someone who doesn't live there anymore should be considered important enough to respond to.
"I understand in some cases they don't have enough manpower and they don't have enough money, but still. Something that is obviously threatening and dangerous to multiple people's lives," said Smithson. "Everything we got is in here."
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