Suspect accused of sparking the massive Dolan Fire is found competent to stand trial.

The criminal case against the man accused of setting the Dolan Fire in Big Sur will proceed after a Monterey County Superior Court judge found he was competent to stand trial.

The case against Fresno resident Ivan Geronimo Gomez had been suspended for several weeks after his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Mike Belter, raised the issue of whether Gomez was mentally competent enough to be able to assist in his own defense. Judge Pam Butler ordered Gomez to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

At a Sept. 23 hearing, Butler announced that the psychiatrist had deemed Gomez competent and Belter didn't oppose the decision. 

Gomez's entry into the Monterey County court system began the night of Aug. 18, when a fire started near John Little State Natural Reserve in Big Sur. A volunteer firefighter was driving across the Lime Creek bridge when they saw a shirtless man standing on a berm beside the road.

The man, later identified as Gomez, threw a rock at the firefighter’s vehicle, puncturing the side panel. The firefighter alerted a group of California State Parks rangers nearby; the rangers found Gomez still standing on the berm.

While he was being detained, Gomez made a startling statement to the rangers: He claimed there were five homicide victims in the forest where the fire started. So far, no bodies have been found, although deputies searching the area found weapons. 

At the time of his arrest, sheriff’s detectives charged 30-year-old Gomez with the rock-throwing incident, arson of forestland, exhibiting a non-firearm deadly weapon, battery and illegally growing cannabis. In court, though, Gomez is only charged with the arson and the rock throwing.

The Dolan Fire continues its fierce march through the Los Padres National Forest and beyond, having burned through 128,417 acres since it started, fueled by dry timber, brush and chaparral. As of Sept. 25, firefighters had it 46-percent contained; on Sept. 8, 14 firefighters were forced to deploy emergency shelters as the flames overwhelmed the Nacimiento Station. Three of those firefighters were injured and airlifted to a hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.

Currently, the U.S. Forest Service lists the cause of the Dolan Fire as “unknown,” but an incident spokesperson says that’s because officials are unsure if it was deliberately or accidentally set.

Gomez is also wanted in Riverside County stemming from a 2018 incident in which he's accused of throwing a rock at a moving vehicle. According to a declaration filed in February 2019 by a Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy, a Thousand Palms man reported that Gomez was standing in middle of Datil Way had thrown a softball-sized rock at his car, denting it.

When the man stopped to confront Gomez, according to the declaration, Gomez picked up another rock and thew it, striking the car's roof and denting it. 

The victim "said Gomez was argumentative, had made bizarre statements and had illogical thinking,'" according to the declaration. He's been charged with a misdemeanor in that case, but has yet to make an appearance in court.

Gomez's next hearing in Monterey County Superior Court happens on Oct. 21.