Paintball device allegedly starts brush fire

This weekend, four men engaged in a very heated game of paint-ball -- a little too heated.

On Sunday, June 10, the San Bernardino County Fire Department battled a fire that allegedly started due to a smokescreen-creating device used in paint-ball games near the intersection of Santa Fe Avenue and Summit Valley Road.

At about 3 p.m., four men began playing a paint-ball simulated combat game, when one of the men, Marco Allen, 25, allegedly tossed a smokescreen-creating device into a patch of dry grass. Instead of working as planned, the device sparked a fire that spread throughout the area.

Eight units from the San Bernardino Country Fire Department, as well as units from CalFire, the Victorville and Apple Valley Fire Departments fought the blaze. At 5:45 p.m., the fire was declared under control, which blackened five acres.

“These things are like fireworks,” said Frank Deleone, store manager for Excessive Force Paintball in Hesperia. According to Deleone, devices like the one used in the incident involve lighting fuses to set off the smoke. “I’d imagine they would get pretty hot.”

Allen was later cited for setting an unlawful fire in forest land.