SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man accused of igniting at least five fires in Amador and El Dorado Counties between Sept. 13 and Oct. 23 was arrested by El Dorado County Sheriff's deputies Monday.
At the time of his arrest, 27-year-old Steven Saunders was accused of setting three fires in Pollock Pines in mid-September. In a news release Saturday, investigators connected Saunders to the two additional fires in the communities of River Pines and Logtown.
According to law enforcement, Saunders began his arson spree by lighting a Taco Bell on Pony Express Trail in Pollock Pines on fire at 2:33 a.m. Sept. 13.
Later that night, around 9:48 p.m., investigators believe Saunders began a vegetation fire behind a Family Dollar store also on Pony Express Trail in Pollock Pines.
The next day, around 5:18 a.m. on Sept. 14, Saunders allegedly lit another vegetation fire behind a CVS Drugs location on Pony Express Trail in Pollock Pines.
On Oct. 21 at 4 a.m., officials say Saunders tried to set a vegetation fire in the area of Meadow View Road and Shenandoah Road in River Pines.
The same day he was arrested on Oct. 23, police believe Saunders sparked a vegetation fire in the area of Highway 49 and Ore Court in Logtown around 3:39 p.m.
Investigators say that evidence at all five scenes indicated that each was a case of arson. Saunders is in El Dorado County Jail on suspicion of arson related to the five fires.
According to Cal Fire, since Jan. 1, Cal Fire officers have made 88 arson arrests statewide.
People with information on suspicious fire activity are asked to call Cal Fire's arson tip line at 1-800-468-4408.
Watch more from ABC10: The Hotshots | California Wildfires: The New Normal
