(Yuba-Sutter, CA) — The Yuba County District Attorney’s Office charged James Matthew Fiske yesterday with seven counts of arson related to multiple fires set in the area of Scott Grant Road in Loma Rica during the month of June 2023.

The 34 year old Fiske, of Browns Valley, is also charged with several acts of felony domestic violence. Three of the fires allegedly set by Fiske on June 15, 2023, were dubbed the Scott Fire, burning 115 acres before CAL FIRE personnel were able to contain the blaze. None of the fires resulted in injury to people or loss of any structures.

Investigators from CAL FIRE and deputies from the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department apprehended Fiske on July 20, in Linda at the Rio Inn and Suites. Fiske pled not guilty at his arraignment yesterday, and bail was set by Judge Benjamin Wirtschafter at 1 point 25 million dollars. Fiske will return to court for a prehearing conference on August 23.

If convicted of all charges, Fiske could face more than 50 years in prison.