Investigators are still trying to figure out what led to a bizarre incident involving a man wielding a sword, who they say set a brush fire in Santa Barbara County.
It started just after 5 Wednesday night, when Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the El Capitan Canyon report by reports of a man behaving strangely. When they arrived, the man fled up into a canyon in a vehicle. When it became stuck, he climbed into a canyon on foot.
Deputies learned Simon Khalili might have a sword. They stopped their pursuit, and a few minutes later smoke started coming from the canyon. A helicopter made two water drops, and deputies were deployed to protect firefighters on the ground…