61-year-old arrested in connection with suspected arson

A 61-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of setting a series of wildfires in rapid succession in southwest Santa Rosa this week, police said.

James Conforti of Santa Rosa was arrested by police Friday night. Police targeted him after he was spotted near a fire that broke out on the grounds of an elementary school around 1 p.m. the same day, police Sergeant Patti Seffens said in a news release.

Friday's fire behind Meadow View Elementary School in Dutton Meadow was the fourth in five days. It burned about half an acre before it was extinguished. The fire posed no immediate threat to students and staff, who were forced to seek shelter due to smoke.

The other three fires — on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday — all started in different areas of the nearby Southwest Community Park, which borders Hearn Avenue. Combined, the three fires burned just under two acres, according to the Santa Rosa Fire Department. No injuries were reported from the fires.

After police classified the fires that rocked the neighborhood as suspicious, their presence in the area was increased, Seffens said.

As firefighters were putting out the fire Friday, a Santa Rosa fire inspector noticed a suspicious man in the area, Seffens said. The inspector attempted to contact the man, who then “abruptly” disappeared in his vehicle, she said.

Detectives from the property crimes unit took over the investigation, Seffens said. They soon found the suspect's vehicle in the parking lot of the Extended Stay America hotel on Corby Avenue, a few blocks west of the school, and began surveillance.

After identifying Conforti as a suspect, investigators obtained a search warrant for his room, which they executed at about 9:50 p.m., Seffens said. The search turned up clothing items matching witness descriptions, digital evidence on his cellphone that indicated Conforti's whereabouts at the time of the fires, and several lighters, she said.

During a subsequent interview at police headquarters, investigators concluded that Conforti was responsible for all four fires, Seffens said. He was arrested on suspicion of four counts of arson and an outstanding warrant in connection with a hit-and-run in Santa Clara County.

As of Saturday afternoon, Conforti has been held in the Sonoma County Jail. Bail is set at $150,000.

A Cal Fire employee was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of setting a series of fires near Geyserville, Healdsburg and Windsor.

Reach staff writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @jeremyhay