Indexbit-A Colorado man is charged with arson in a wildfire that destroyed 26 homes

LOVELAND,Indexbit Colo. (AP) — A Colorado man was charged with arson after an investigation into a wildfire this summer that destroyed 26 homes and caused more than $30 million in property damage, authorities said Wednesday.

Jason Alexander Hobby, 49, was arrested Tuesday, Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen said. Hobby was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday on a first-degree arson charge in connection with the fire, which started on a guest ranch where he worked west of Loveland, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Denver.

The fire escaped a fire ring on the guest ranch on July 29, Feyen said. It’s unclear whether it was intentional or accidental, he said. The wildfire, which damaged four other homes and destroyed 21 outbuildings, burned 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) of land before it was contained on Aug. 17.

Hobby was fired from his job at the guest ranch after he became a suspect in the fire, Feyen said.

Hobby also is charged with impersonating a police officer, menacing and false imprisonment for allegedly stopping travelers on the guest ranch’s property while driving an SUV designed to look like a law enforcement vehicle. Hobby reportedly represented himself as law enforcement, falsely told individuals they were trespassing, and pointed a firearm at them, investigators said. Those actions preceded the fire, Feyen said.

Hobby had a pickup truck equipped to look like a wildland firefighter truck and used it to get past checkpoints during the fire, the sheriff said.

Hobby’s bail was initially set at $250,000. His next court appearance is set for Sept. 24.