Arson suspect arrested in Boles fire; 157 homes were destroyed

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The sun rises behind Mt. Shasta overlooking the devastated Angel Valley neighborhood two days after the Boles Fire, pushed by heavy winds devastated this town near the California and Oregon border. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Crews work to extinguish fire that continues to burn below the surface of a large pile of wood chips at the Roseburg Mill, two days after the wind whipped Boles Fire blew through the town of Weed. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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The melted ruins of an old car sits in the driveway of a home in the Angel Valley neighborhood of Weed, CA. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Fire retardant paints a grass field orange in the Angel Valley neighborhood of Weed, CA. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters put out hotspots at a still smoldering home in a neighborhood destroyed by a devastating fire that rage through Weed, Calif., destroying 150 buildings. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Hundreds of homes are in ruins a day after a wildfire, pushed by heavy winds, devastated Weed, Calif., a town near the California and Oregon border. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Seemingly unscathed logs are stacked next to piles of smoldering logs at the Roseburg Mill a day after the Boles fire, pushed by heavy winds, devastated Weed, Calif. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Vacaville firefighter Chris Mickelson looks for hot spots where dozens of homes lay in ruins a day after a wildfire, pushed by heavy winds, struck Weed, Caliif. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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A sign of thanks painted on the rooftop of a home spared by the Boles fire can be seen from nearby lots of smoldering debris in Weed, Calif. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Santa Rosa city firefighters clear debris in search of hot spots in the Angel Valley neighborhood of Weed, Calif., where many homes were destroyed by the Boles fire. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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An air drop of fire retardant helped spare a home on Jackson Street. Hundreds of others nearby lay in ruins a day after the Boles fire swept through the area. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Kathy Besk, left, cries with her daughter Shelley Besk as they stand in the burned-out ruins of their home in Weed, Calif. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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A section of a structure stands over the remains of a destroyed business in Weed, Calif. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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A cyclist stops to take a picture of the remains of destroyed homes in Weed, Calif. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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Firefighters hose down the smoldering remains of a home in Weed, Calif., on Tuesday. (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

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The sun rises over Mt. Shasta on Tuesday, illuminating the remains of a house burned in a wind-driven wildfire in Weed, Calif. (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

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A firefighter hoses down smoking rubble inside the foundation of a home destroyed by a wildfire in Weed, Calif. (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

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A bathtub is seen painted pink with fire retardant in the rubble of a home destroyed by a wildfire in Weed, Calif. (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

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Apples hang on a tree next to a home destroyed by a wind-driven wildfire in Weed, Calif. (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

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Firefighters work to put out fires and protect structures along Center Street in Weed, Calif. The Boles fire raced through the small town near the Oregon border, damaging or destroying 100 homes and prompting evacuation orders for at least 1,500 people, authorities said. (Greg Barnette / Associated Press)

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The Boles fire burns along a ridge in Weed, Calif. (Greg Barnette / Associated Press)

By Abby Sewell

Oct. 11, 2014 6:57 PM PT

Police in the small Northern California city of Weed have arrested a suspect on suspicion of arson in connection with a fire that destroyed 157 homes and forced the evacuation of 4,000 people last month.

Weed Police Department officials said in a statement that they arrested Ronald Beau Marshall, 24, Saturday on suspicion of arson of an inhabited structure, arson to forest land and arson of property of another.

He was being held at Siskiyou County Jail on $250,000 bail.

The arrest came after a three-week joint investigation by Weed police, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department and Cal Fire.

The Boles fire took a heavy toll on Weed, destroying two churches, a library and machinery at the town’s mill, which processes materials for plywood.

More than 1,000 firefighters battled the blaze, which burned 516 acres.

Officials asked that anyone with information about potential arson cases call Cal Fire’s Arson Hotline at 1-800-468-4408. Callers can remain anonymous.

Follow Abby Sewell on Twitter at @sewella

Arson suspect arrested in Boles fire; 157 homes were destroyed

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