James Lonczak

A handyman pleaded guilty Monday to setting two fires that blackened more than 12,800 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest and caused more than $2 million in damages. James Lonczak, 41, of Covina pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to two counts of arson in the public domain. Lonczak admitted starting the fire last Sept.

A handyman pleaded guilty Monday to setting two fires that blackened more than 12,800 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest and caused more than $2 million in damages. James Lonczak, 41, of Covina pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to two counts of arson in the public domain. Lonczak admitted starting the fire last Sept.

A Covina man pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court Monday to setting two fires that destroyed more than 12,800 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest. James Lonczak, a carpenter and handyman for the Monrovia-based international relief organization World Vision, admitted throwing lighted cigarettes attached to matches into the brush near Lytle Creek on at least two occasions last year.

A 41-year-old Covina man has been charged with arson in connection with a 12,000-acre brush fire last week in the San Gabriel Mountains near Lytle Creek, authorities said Tuesday. James L. Lonczak, who was arrested at his apartment in Covina on Sunday, is believed to have intentionally set 24 wild-land fires in the same area since July 9, said Ron Huxman, a special agent with the U.S. Forest Service, at a press conference.