SAN DIEGO: A 57-year-old man was charged with arson on May 16 in one of at least 10 wildfires that erupted in California this week, and investigators were working to determine whether other blazes in the unusually early and intense outbreak were ignited by something as ordinary as sparks from cars or something more sinister.

State fire officials said the first blaze that erupted between Tuesday and Thursday was caused by a spark from malfunctioning construction equipment. But it could take months to get to the bottom of the most damaging fires. Alberto Serrato pleaded not guilty to arson in connection with one of the smaller fires — a 105-acre (42-hectare) fire in suburban Oceanside that started on Wednesday and is fully contained.

Bail was set at $250,000. Tanya Sierra, a spokeswoman for the San Diego County district attorney’s office, said witnesses saw Serrato adding dead brush onto smoldering bushes, which flamed up. He has not been connected to any other fire, Sierra said. Oceanside police Lieutenant Sean Marshand said Serrato is believed to have added fuel to the fire but not to have started it.

“Unfortunately we don’t have the guy that we really want,” he said. Serrato was booked into jail on Wednesday, according to the San Diego County sheriff’s department website, but his arrest wasn’t announced until Friday. Sierra didn’t know if he had an attorney. All together, the wildfires have raced through an estimated 20,000 acres (8,093.89 hectares) about 30 miles (48 kilometres) north of San Diego, causing more than $20 million in damage. One burned body was found in an encampment of homeless people.

At least eight houses and an 18-unit condominium complex were destroyed, and tens of thousands of people were warned to leave their homes. Eight of the blazes popped up between late morning and sundown on Wednesday, raising suspicions that some had been set.

The region has become a tinder box in recent days because of conditions not normally seen until late summer — extremely dry weather, 50 mph (80.46 kph) Santa Ana winds and temperatures in the 90s. On Friday, though, cooler weather aided the 2,600 firefighters, and thousands of people began returning home. In one of the hardest-hit cities, Carlsbad, investigators finished examining the burn site across the street from a park and focused on interviewing people who called a hotline that was set up to report any suspicious activity.

“Do people have suspicions? Yes,” said police Captain Neil Gallucci, noting there has been no lightning that could explain the blazes. “But can we confirm them? The answer is no.” The list of possible causes is long and investigators will visit each burn site and go down a list, marking what they know and don’t know.