LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A Clearlake man is facing several felony arson and weapons charges after authorities said he set four separate fires over a two-month period in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks.

Cal Fire law enforcement arrested 53-year-old Ronald Neil Millard on Thursday.

He was arraigned on the charges before Judge Shanda Harry on Monday in Lake County Superior Court. 

The District Attorney’s Office’s amended complaint, filed in the case against Millard, said he’s believed to have set the following fires:

• The 11-acre North Fire on Sulphur Bank Road and North Drive in Clearlake on Aug. 8;
• An unnamed fire on Sulphur Bank Road in Clearlake Oaks on Sept. 12;
• The Bank No. 1 fire on Sulphur Bank Drive in Clearlake on Sept. 26; and
• The Bank No. 2 fire on Sulphur Bank Drive in Clearlake on Sept. 26.

Millard is charged with 11 felony counts for the fires, including four counts of arson, one for each of the fires; three counts of possession of an incendiary device; and four counts of setting fires within an area of a state of emergency.

When he was taken into custody on Thursday, Millard was found to be in possession of a .22 long rifle and ammunition, which he is prohibited to own because of a September 2014 conviction for possession of methamphetamine.

As a result, the District Attorney’s Office has charged him with two additional felonies for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

So far, a date for a preliminary hearing has not been set.

Millard is being held in the Lake County Jail without bail.

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.