Small grass fire in Geyserville leads to arson arrest

A Healdsburg-area man was arrested Friday night on suspicion of setting a grass field on fire with a lighter in Geyserville near Highway 101.

Wesley James Bergman, 37, who the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said is a transient, is accused of arson and causing a fire to forestland, both felonies.

A sheriff’s deputy was driving north on the highway near the Lytton Springs Road onramp just after 6:50 p.m. Friday when he spotted a small grass fire on Geyserville Avenue and saw Bergman walking in the area, Sheriff’s Sgt. Juan Valencia said.

“It’s pretty straightforward,” Valencia said. “He admits to setting the field on fire because he was having a bad day.”

Fire crews with Cal Fire, Northern Sonoma County Fire in Geyserville and Healdsburg Fire responded. The fire, which burned an area estimated at 50 by 30 feet, was put out in a matter of minutes, according to Andrew Wallace, a firefighter with Northern Sonoma County Fire.

Bergman was held Saturday at the Sonoma County Jail on $40,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.