Man suspected of starting Alexander Mountain Fire was disciplined by property owners days before, affidavit says

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — Early in the investigation of the Alexander Mountain Fire, several staff members at Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch suspected a co-worker had started the fire, as he was the only one who would have been in the area where the fire began, court documents said.

An unsealed arrest affidavit shared more details about why investigators arrested and charged Jason Hobby for arson, impersonation of a police officer, menacing, false imprisonment and impersonating a public official.

The Alexander Mountain Fire burned more than 9,500 acres, destroyed 26 homes and 20 outbuildings, and damaged four more homes. The cost of the damage to  property is estimated to be more than $30 million, according to the affidavit. 

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On July 29, first responders began receiving numerous 911 calls about an “out of control” wildland fire near property next to Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch. Authorities arrested Hobby more than a month later, on Sept. 10.

According to the affidavit, a fire arson investigator determined the origin of the fire came from a makeshift, rock fire pit less than two miles above Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch. 

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Investigators said they found footprints in the origin area that appeared similar to the boots taken from Hobby’s home through a search warrant, according to court documents.

Those boots have been sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for analysis. Larimer County Sheriff’s Office investigators conducted a search warrant of Hobby’s home on Aug. 7 and found numerous pieces of firefighting gear and items that can start fires.

At another location in the fire area, investigators found a gas can that matched one in pictures on Hobby’s social media, the arrest affidavit said.

During an interview with a ranch manager, investigators learned she saw Hobby on ranch property with another person she didn’t know. Hobby was wearing a uniform of fire resistant fabric. The manager said she saw him on the property less than 90 minutes after the first reports of a fire.

Another witness told investigators that Hobby played an integral role in guiding professional firefighters into the area west of the ranch.

Investigators said they found video of Hobby in a restricted area, saying he “responded to the area to fight the fire, and that the real firefighters were staging outside the fire area.”

Hobby agreed to be interviewed on Aug. 7 and denied starting the fire. The affidavit says he failed a polygraph examination when investigators asked whether he was responsible for starting the Alexander Mountain Fire.

Employees and residents of Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch described Hobby as a self-proclaimed “fire manager” of the ranch.

According to the arrest affidavit, property owners disciplined Hobby six days before the fire for conducting unauthorized duties as an armed law enforcement officer by wearing a uniform with a “ranger” insignia and driving several cars with a “ranger” star on the door. Staff said Hobby would aggressively confront people entering the property about trespassing. 

In the summer of 2022, the affidavit said, the property owner asked Hobby to be a ranch security officer, which is when he began wearing a uniform and driving a personal car with emergency lights on it. His security duties were demoted in July 2024, after he started conducting traffic stops with his personal car, the affidavit says.

According to a witness, the property owner compiled a length list of infractions by Hobby toward other staff, including frequently pulling guns on people who came to the property. 

Hobby felt “persecuted and ganged up on,” said a witness, describing his disciplinary history. The witness believed Hobby started the fire to “insert himself as a hero … after his recent disciplinary work.”

Hobby wasn’t happy before the fire when he learned some of the ranch property was going to be donated to a nonprofit organization for veterans called Heart J Center for Experimental Learning program, the affidavit said. Court records say the property that was to be donated burned during the Alexander Mountain Fire.

Court documents list Hobby’s criminal history, including a 2020 case in California for possessing a dangerous weapon and failing to obtain licenses to be a security guard. The background check did not find a criminal history in Colorado.