Man in Dixie Fire evacuation zone arrested after he refuses to leave, the CHP says

A man was arrested by Susanville California Highway Patrol officers this week on suspicion of refusing to leave despite evacuation orders imposed by the Dixie Fire and trying to run over an officer with a pickup truck.

In a news release, the Susanville-area CHP said that Willis Coit Dow, 40, of Susanville was taken into custody Thursday in Janesville after an officer spotted him inside an evacuation zone.

According to the CHP, Dow was walking along Lakecrest Road south of Blickenstaff Road just before 11:40 a.m. when an officer approached him and gave him a warning to leave. That area of Janesville is under a mandatory evacuation order due to the nearby Dixie Fire, burning southwest of Susanville.

Shortly afterward, another officer who saw him running north on Lakecrest Road told him to stop. According to the CHP, Dow continued running and got into a pickup truck with a trailer loaded with a bulldozer.

The officer caught up with Dow, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of the truck, and again told him to stop. CHP officials said that Dow drove the truck toward the officer, who had to dodge the vehicle to avoid being hit.

As more officers arrived in the area, Dow stopped the truck, got out and laid on the ground in compliance with the officers’ orders. Dow used his cell phone to record officers, who then told him to drop the phone in order to place him in handcuffs. When he refused, officers “used control holds” in order to arrest Dow, according to the CHP.

He was taken to Lassen County jail and charged with assault, obstructing an officer, entering an evacuation zone and fleeing from a traffic stop. He was released on bail, according to the CHP.

This story was originally published August 21, 2021 at 1:41 PM.