LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — The man accused of sparking the nearly 10,000-acre Alexander Mountain Fire in Larimer County acted as a "self-proclaimed fire manager" and wanted to be seen as "the hero," according to court documents obtained by Denver7 Friday.
The fire sparked on July 29 near Drake north of Highway 34 and burned 9,668 acres over about three weeks. On Aug. 9, the U.S. Forest Service confirmed that the fire was human-caused, but no other specifics were available at the time. Officials had previously referenced signs of human activity near where the fire apparently started.
More than 5,000 people evacuated, but no injuries were reported. However, the fire destroyed about 29 homes and 21 outbuildings and damaged four additional homes. The firefight cost an estimated $11 million, while the fire damage was estimated to be more than $30 million, according to court documents.
During a press conference on Sept. 11, the Larimer County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Forest Service identified Jason Alexander Hobby, 49, of Loveland as a suspect in the fire. He faces charges of first-degree arson, two counts of impersonating a peace officer, felony menacing, false imprisonment and impersonating a public servant. He was taken into custody on Sept. 10 and issued a $450,000 cash/surety bond.
Hobby was an employee at the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch — a family-owned, 3,200-acre property in the foothills west of Loveland — until he was identified as a suspect during the course of the investigation, said Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen during the press conference. The ranch then terminated his employment.
Watch the full press conference below:
According to court documents, investigators determined that the fire originated from a three-feet by three-feet makeshift rock fire pit located 1.4 miles away from a residence adjacent to the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch. There were three wood logs — two to the west and one to the south — located near the fire pit. Investigators also found foil lids for yogurt containers, containers of yogurt and a sardine can inside the pit, court documents state.
The affidavit says the fire burned for "a period of time" before reports started coming into the sheriff's office.
Investigators determined that someone tried to "suppress or extinguish fire in the origin area." They spotted "debris, foliage and grass that was pulled away from trees to prevent those trees from burning," according to court documents. The affidavit says there were also fresh cuts made to trees using a chainsaw.
Authorities noticed a person's boot footprints that were "haphazardly" scattered throughout the origin area. Investigators determined that the footprints belonged to a man's size 12 boot with Vibram soles.
During the investigation, authorities interviewed several employees of the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch. Many fingered Hobby as a potential suspect, according to court documents. He reportedly was the "self-proclaimed fire manager" of the ranch and lived at a home close to the origin of the fire.
The affidavit says Hobby was disciplined by the ranch owners on July 23 for "conducting unauthorized armed (firearm) law enforcement duties on the property, by wearing a uniform with law enforcement "Ranger" insignia, and operating several vehicles with a "Ranger" star on the door." He allegedly had a history of "aggressively" confronting people about trespassing.
Hobby reportedly told the ranch owners that he was a firefighter in Wyoming and allegedly said he traveled to the state on his off days to help fight fires. The affidavit says Hobby owned a marked fire department vehicle — a white Ford pickup truck with emergency lights and equipment. The truck had "Twin Butte Fire Protection" in blue lettering on the doors, as well as "Brush-236" and "Fire."
Hobby allegedly told the ranch manager that he was going to be in Douglas, Wyoming, on July 29 — the day the fire started. However, the affidavit says the manager saw Hobby on the ranch less than 90 minutes after the initial reported start of the fire. He was allegedly with another unknown person wearing "firefighting Nome uniforms." The affidavit explains that Nomex is a "fire retardant/ resistant fabric commonly used by professional firefighters to protect them from catching fire."
Staff at the ranch told the manager they heard firearms being fired near Alexander Mountain before the fire sparked, according to the affidavit.
Authorities executed a search warrant at Hobby's home on Aug. 7. According to the affidavit, deputies seized several items during the search, including:
- A United States Fire Service t-shirt
- Four Montrose Wildland Fire shirts
- A United States Forest Service - Arapahoe Roosevelt uniform jacket
- A Colorado Wildland Fire Management sweatshirt
- Four United States Forest Service t-shirts
- Five pairs of various boots with Vibram soles
- One pair of firefighter bunker gear pants
- Four black Twin Butte Fire Protection and Wildland Management t-shirts
- Five blue Twin Butte Fire Protection and Wildland Management t-shirts with badges on them
- Two fire helmets — one from the U.S. Forest Service and the other from Twin Butte Fire Protection and Wildland Management
- One yellow Nomex fire-resistant suit belonging to the US Forest Service
- One green marmot US Forest Service Fire Service jacket
- One gray Twin Butte Fire Protection jacket
- One black Velocity System uniform shirt with "Chief Hobby" on it
- One 5.11 pull-over sweatshirt with "Chief Hobby" printed on it
- Five "various" fire helmets
- Five "various" Nomex fire uniform jackets
- One Montrose Hell Fighters identification
- A map of Cedar Creek Road
- An Alexander Mountain Fire incident plan
- A "wildfire cause and origin determination book"
- A State of Wyoming magnet
- Several fire department pack-set radios
- Photographs of "law enforcement style equipment to include tactical vests, holsters, patches and weapons"
- "Items that can start fires," which included lighters, matches, firecrackers and flares
The same day his home was searched, Hobby consented to an interview. He told investigators he was not in Colorado when the fire started and was working as a firefighter in Manville, Wyoming, on July 28 and July 29, according to the affidavit. However, the court document says Hobby was in Manville working on a truck that had broken down.
According to the affidavit, a friend of Hobby's drove him to Manville on July 28, which is about 3.5 hours north of Loveland. Investigators obtained surveillance video reportedly showing Hobby at a Napa Auto Parts Store in Lusk, Wyoming, on July 29. He was seen leaving the store just before 8 a.m., according to court documents.
Investigators asked Hobby to take a polygraph examination. The court document says Hobby was asked if he started the Alexander Mountain Fire, and he said no. The polygraph examiner reported that Hobby failed the exam and was untruthful during that question, according to the affidavit.
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The affidavit references an interview with a manager of the Heart-J Center, a nonprofit that helps people connect with nature. The Heart-J Center has operated from the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch for the past decade, and the family who owns the ranch plans to one day transfer the ranch to the nonprofit's management.
The manager told investigators they were "concerned that Hobby created this incident to insert himself as the hero in the eyes of staff after his recent disciplinary work history," according to the affidavit. The manager said the property owners had compiled a "lengthy list of infractions" reportedly committed by Hobby over the past two years. The list included allegations of bullying and harassment, as well as incidents involving a firearm, court documents state.
The manager recalled that one of the ranch owners asked Hobby to be the "ranch security officer" in the summer of 2022. Hobby allegedly began wearing a uniform and driving a "personally owned vehicle with indicators of "Sylvan Dale Ranger" with emergency lights equipped." He also began conducting traffic stops using his personal vehicle, according to the manager.
The ranch owners demoted Hobby from his security duties in July 2024, the affidavit states. After he was demoted, Hobby reportedly told fellow staff members that he felt "persecuted and ganged up on."
Hobby was also allegedly against the ranch being transferred to the Heart-J Center. He reportedly "expressed anger, hatred, and fear of the plans for the land to go to the Heart-J Center." The affidavit says Hobby told another employee, "Things would be better if the Heart-J Center exploded." About 1,240 acres of the Sylvan Dale Ranch that was to be donated to the nonprofit was burned in the Alexander Mountain Fire, according to court documents.
At one point, the Heart-J Center partnered with the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority to burn "slash piles" in the Cedar Park area. Hobby was allegedly upset that he was "not included in these discussions being the self-proclaimed Fire Manager of the property." Due to the interference, the nonprofit canceled its plans, and the piles were not burned, according to the manager.
As the Alexander Mountain Fire burned, Hobby allegedly entered evacuated and restricted areas of the ranch and gave staff "updates as to the damage and the direction of the fire's travels."
The affidavit discusses a meeting that was held at the fire incident command post on July 30. Hobby and several Heart-J Center employees were reportedly in attendance. During that meeting, Hobby said he knew how the fire started and claimed it was from an unattended campfire on Alexander Mountain, according to court documents. However, the affidavit says investigators did not determine the cause of the fire until Aug. 3.
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During their investigation, authorities talked with two brothers who traveled to Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch to photograph big horn sheep on March 23. One brother told investigators they went to the ranch's front office and spoke to employees, who gave them permission to be on the property.
According to the affidavit, the two entered the property on the dirt roads to the southwest side of the property. They mistakenly ended up on a canal access road, which did not have signage and was not barricaded, the court document states.
The affidavit says the two got out of their vehicle and started to gather their camera equipment when they spotted a white Chevrolet Tahoe with flashing lights "speed up to them at a very quick speed."
According to the brothers, a man wearing a uniform "resembling a law enforcement officer" got out of the vehicle and pointed a handgun at them. He reportedly said the brothers were under arrest for trespassing. After a few moments, the man "changed his behavior, deescalated and offered to take them to a different part of the ranch where they would have a better view of the sheep." The brothers said the man guided them to a different portion of the ranch and "then joked with them, acting as if he was issuing them a citation."
The brothers provided pictures of the man, and investigators identified him as Hobby, according to court documents. They also sent photos of the vehicle, which had "decals similar to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office badge or the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources "Park Rangers" badge affixed to the doors," the affidavit states.
Investigators also obtained a video that Hobby had allegedly sent from inside the Alexander Mountain Fire area to several employees from the Heart-J Center and Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch. In the video, Hobby is reportedly seen at the top of Storm Mountain on the ranch, which was a restricted area at the time. He was allegedly wearing a wildland fire uniform and a helmet that had a Twin Buttes Fire Protection and Wildland Management emblem.
In the video, Hobby allegedly said he responded to the area "to fight the fire, and that the real firefighters were staging outside the area." The affidavit says Hobby "appeared in his statement to be upset that firefighters were not in that area fighting the fire."
According to the court documents, investigators spotted a cabin building that was "very remote and approximately 1/2 mile from the nearest access point to the property and the residential area of Sylvan Dale Ranch" as well as a yellow fuel can in the video.
Authorities went to the cabin on Aug. 23 and spotted "what appeared to be drip can activity" as well as burn areas that indicated "someone tried to start a back burn or fire mitigation around the cabin," according to the affidavit. Someone also allegedly used a chainsaw to cut bushes and shrubs away from the cabin.
The affidavit says a yellow can that contained a "reddish fuel" was found in the same spot that was seen in the video.
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Records detail criminal record linked to Alexander Mountain Fire suspect
Investigators looked into Hobby's claim that he was a firefighter in Wyoming. The affidavit explains people interested in becoming a wildland firefighter must attend training and obtain a "Red Card." Firefighters must then carry that card when working and present it when asked, according to the court document.
The affidavit says Hobby was not issued a Red Card. Investigators also learned that a man "resembling Hobby" had shown up to fires in Natrona County, Wyoming, and worked with crews but left without being paid for his work, according to court documents.
Three Wyoming counties — Natrona, Converse and Platte — did not have a record of Hobby or his business, Twin Buttes Fire Protection, according to court documents. The affidavit says the Wyoming State Forestry also did not have a record of Hobby being a certified firefighter or wildland firefighter.
During their investigation, authorities dug into Hobby's criminal history. Following his arrest, Denver7 Investigates obtained court records from Riverside County, California, where Hobby had previously faced criminal charges. The records revealed Hobby was arrested on July 4, 1999.
According to the court documents, Hobby was arrested for not having "private security" patches. He was eventually charged with manufacturing, importing, and selling weapons, failing to carry valid security ID, and wearing a baton without registering it.
All charges were dismissed due to a violation of the defendant's rights to a speedy trial, according to a spokesperson for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
Hobby's arrest affidavit lists his criminal history as follows:
- April 1996: Arrested for carrying a loaded firearm in a public place in San Bernadino, California. A disposition was not listed.
- February 1997: Arrested for impersonating a public official in San Bernadino, California. He was found guilty and sentenced to jail time and probation.
- July 1997: Arrested for impersonating a public official in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He was convicted of false imprisonment and sentenced to jail time and 36 months of probation. He also received a fine.
- November 1997: Arrested for impersonating a public official and carrying a loaded firearm in a public place in San Bernadino, California
- July 1999: Arrested for carrying a loaded firearm in a public place in Lakewood, California
- July 1999: Arrested for wearing an improper uniform and failing to properly identify while working as a security guard in Corona, California
- May 2000: Arrested for carrying a loaded firearm in public in Montebello, California
- July 2001: Arrested for theft by misrepresentation as a cardholder in Pomona, California
- August 2001: Arrested for disturbing the peace and carrying a firearm in a public place in San Bernadino, California. He pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace.
- September 2020: Arrested for possession of a dangerous weapon and failing to obtain licenses to be a security guard in Riverside, California
Hobby does not have a criminal history in Colorado or Wyoming, according to his affidavit.
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