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Man arrested after police say he started fire, threatened workers at Central Coast medical office

Lompoc Police say this is some of the damage caused as a result of a man's rampage at an Santa Barbara County mental health facility.
Lompoc Police
Lompoc Police say this is some of the damage caused as a result of a man's rampage at an Santa Barbara County mental health facility.

Workers barricaded themselves in office until police arrested man.

It was a terrifying afternoon for people at a Central Coast medical building. Lompoc Police say a man entered a Santa Barbara County Behavioral Health facility on East Ocean Avenue, threatened some office workers, and then started a fire.

Officers say William Morales was outside of the building when they arrived Tuesday afternoon. They say he threw a large piece of wood which missed them, but hit a patrol vehicle.

The Lompoc man then ran inside. Officers forced their way inside and arrested him. Some employees had barricaded themselves in a room. But, officer say Morales had set that room on fire.

The people were safely evacuated, but the fire caused more than $10,000 in damage before it was extinguished. The Lompoc man is facing more than a half-dozen charges ranging from attempted murder to arson of an inhabited dwelling.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.