A Colorado man is charged with arson in a wildfire that destroyed 29 homes

LOVELAND, Colo. — A Colorado man was charged with arson after an investigation into a wildfire this summer that destroyed 29 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. He appeared in court 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.

His bail was set at $450,000.

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 also damaged four other homes and destroyed 21 outbuildings, burned 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) of land before it was contained on Aug. 17.

The cost to put out the fire was more than $11 million, District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin told the court.

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. That happened in March 2023, one of the victims said in court on Wednesday.

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. He is also charged with two misdemeanor counts of impersonating a public official.

Hobby's bail was initially set at $250,000, but McLaughlin asked for it to be increased to $1 million cash. He said he was concerned Hobby might leave the area and that he is being investigated for fires set in Wyoming. McLaughlin did not say when or where those fires happened and court officials said the affidavit was sealed.

A public defender unsuccessfully argued for his bail to remain at $250,000, saying Hobby had his own business and lived in Loveland with his wife.

Hobby's next court appearance is set for Sept. 24.