According to a media release from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the Bomb/Arson Unit is investigating a fire that happened in the unincorporated area of El Cajon. Around 9:30 p.m. on January 11, 2024, the fire occurred in the 400 block of East Bradley Avenue. The Sheriff’s Department received several calls about a fire at an apartment complex at the aforementioned location.

Lakeside Sheriff’s Substation deputies and firefighters responded to the scene within minutes. At the scene, they discovered a row of 14 garages engulfed in flames. The Sheriff’s Department said that the garages were detached from the apartment complex. Firefighters spent more than an hour putting out the fire.

The Bomb/Arson Unit from the Sheriff’s Department responded to investigate the cause and origin of the fire. On January 12, 2024, detectives say they identified Mavis Williams as the suspect who started the fire. Detectives also say they determined that Williams and other homeless persons had been living in the garage where the fire started.

Williams is wanted for arrest for Unlawfully/Recklessly Causing a Fire to an Inhabited Structure. She is not in custody at this time.