LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — The man who was accused of starting the 2024 Alexander Mountain Fire in Larimer County is no longer facing an arson charge after investigators said new evidence indicates he likely did not start the wildfire.
Jason Alexander Hobby, 51, of Loveland, was arrested in this case in September 2024 and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
"Newly discovered evidence" that "directly contradicts the original theory of the case" was found by investigators and "indicates Mr. Hobby could not have started the Alexander Mountain Fire," the Eighth Judicial District Attorney's Office said on Thursday afternoon.
Subsequently, the arson charge was dropped.
The other charges against him are still pending, according to the district attorney's office. That includes two counts of impersonating a peace officer, impersonating a public servant, felony menacing, and false imprisonment. His trial on these charges remains in place and is set to start in early July.
"It would be unethical for a District Attorney’s Office to pursue a prosecution in which they did not believe the correct person was charged," the district attorney's office said. "In this case, the District Attorney’s Office cannot proceed on the Arson charge against Mr. Hobby because evidence related to Mr. Hobby’s whereabouts, his potential alibi, access to the fire origin location, and digital evidence from his cell phone all provide direct evidence that he is unlikely to have started the Alexander Mountain Fire."
The office said it is disappointed that the person responsible for setting the wildfire remains unknown.
The investigation has included hundreds of witness interviews and police reports, more than a terabyte of digital evidence, forensic evidence reports, and hundreds of hours of body-worn camera videos, the district attorney's office said.
Hobby was arrested in September 2024, several months after the Alexander Mountain Fire sparked on July 29, 2024 near Drake north of Highway 34. Later that month, Denver7 obtained Hobby's arrest affidavit, which read that he had acted as a "self-proclaimed fire manager" and wanted to be seen as "the hero" during the Alexander Mountain Fire.
The fire, determined to have been caused by a person or people at a campfire ring near the top of the mountain, burned 9,668 acres over about three weeks. More than 5,000 people evacuated and about 30 homes and 20 outbuildings were destroyed. Nobody was injured. Fire damage was estimated at $30 million, plus $11 million for the firefighting efforts.
Hobby pleaded not guilty in December 2025 to all six charges against him. A trial date was set then for July 2026.
Hobby was an employee with Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch — a family-owned, 3,200-acre property in the foothills west of Loveland — up until he was identified as a suspect in the wildfire.
In an arrest affidavit Denver7 obtained after his arrest, authorities accused him of wearing a uniform with fake logos and operating a vehicle with a fake "Ranger" star on the door around the ranch's property.
