LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A Clearlake man has been ordered to stand trial for separate arson cases that happened about two weeks apart.

Patrick Blaine Squier, 66, was in Judge J. David Markham’s courtroom on Monday afternoon for his preliminary hearing in the two cases.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Rotow said Squier has been ordered to stand trial in the cases. He’s set to return to court later this month.

Squier is facing arson charges for fires authorities said he set on Aug. 23 and Sept. 6, both in Clearlake.

The fire on Aug. 23 was reported at about 11 p.m. behind Foods Etc., located at 15290 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.

A trash can was set on fire behind the store, against a building and near numerous propane tanks, between the store and the Adventist Health clinic, as Lake County News has reported.

Squier was arrested a short time after that fire and, after his arraignment on Aug. 26, was released on his own recognizance.

Then, at around 4 a.m. Sept. 6, a debris fire was reported behind the Grocery Outlet, located at 14806 Olympic Drive. Police again arrested Squier shortly after that fire.

He was arraigned on Sept. 9 for that second incident.

As for why Squier set the fires, “I have no information on motive,” Rotow told Lake County News on Monday afternoon, following the preliminary hearing.

Squier remains in custody in the Lake County Jail. At the Sept. 9 arraignment, the District Attorney’s Office argued for Squier to remain in custody without bail and the judge agreed.

Rotow said Squier could file a motion for reconsideration of bail but so far he has not done so.

“I think that would be an uphill battle, but legally he could make the request. We’ll strongly oppose it,” Rotow said.

Squier is scheduled to return to court for arraignment on Sept. 30. Rotow expects the case to be set for trial after that.

“We intend to put the cases together so they’re tried as one case,” he said.

Rotow added that he expects the case to go to trial because the District Attorney’s Office does not plan to offer a plea agreement.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.