After two years of racking up infractions working at Sylvan Dale Ranch close to Loveland, the 49-year-old man charged with arson within the Alexander Mountain fireplace could have needed to play the hero, in keeping with an arrest affidavit.
Jason Passion was arrested earlier this month in connection to the Larimer County wildfire that charred practically 10,000 acres and brought about greater than $30 million in injury to non-public and public property, in keeping with Larimer County officers.
The fireplace, which burned for greater than two weeks, destroyed 29 properties and 21 outbuildings and broken one other 4 properties. Crews totally contained the flames on Aug. 17.
Among the many destroyed land was 1,240 acres the Sylvan Dale Ranch house owners had been planning to donate to the Coronary heart-J Heart for Experimental Studying — an education-based nonprofit — investigators mentioned.
A Coronary heart-J Heart supervisor advised investigators Passion was an outspoken opponent of the plan and mentioned the 49-year-old had advised coworkers that “issues could be higher if the Coronary heart-J Heart exploded.”
Passion faces prices of arson, felony menacing, impersonating a public official, false imprisonment and two counts of impersonating a police officer, in keeping with court docket information.
Throughout interviews, a employees member on the ranch advised investigators Passion performed an “integral function” in guiding skilled firefighters into the Cedar Park space in the course of the Alexander Mountain fireplace and that he was “involved Passion created this incident to insert himself as a hero within the eyes of employees after his current disciplinary work historical past,” in keeping with an arrest affidavit from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Workplace.
Passion additionally despatched coworkers a number of movies the place he was in restricted areas whereas wearing a faux firefighter uniform with a Twin Buttes Fireplace Safety District and Wildland Administration emblem, investigators mentioned within the affidavit. The Twin Buttes Fireplace Safety District doesn’t exist.
Within the movies, Passion entered evacuated buildings and restricted areas to offer updates on the injury and the course the hearth was touring, investigators mentioned.
The ranch property house owners beforehand promoted Passion to a safety officer two years in the past, the affidavit acknowledged. He began sporting a uniform and added emergency lights to his private automobile to conduct site visitors stops.
Over the previous two years, Passion has gotten in bother for harassing and bullying Sylvan Dale Ranch employees, intimidating visitors and “often” pulling weapons on individuals who got here onto the property, in keeping with the affidavit.
In a single March 2023 incident, two brothers visited the Sylvan Dale Ranch to {photograph} massive horn sheep, which had been migrating on the property, investigators mentioned within the affidavit.
The pair advised sheriff’s officers that whereas they had been establishing digicam gear outdoors their automotive, Passion pulled up subsequent to them, acquired out of the automotive sporting a uniform with patches and badges resembling a regulation enforcement officer and pointed a handgun at them.
Passion advised the 2 they had been underneath arrest for trespassing however finally allow them to go, in keeping with the affidavit. Each brothers advised investigators they thought Passion was regulation enforcement and that they had been going to get shot.
Passion was faraway from safety duties in July 2024 after the house owners discovered concerning the repeated incidents, in keeping with the affidavit.
The 49-year-old self-proclaimed “fireplace supervisor” of the Sylvan Dale Visitor Ranch additionally lied to the property house owners about being a firefighter from Wyoming, investigators mentioned within the affidavit. He advised the house owners that on his days off from the ranch he would journey to Wyoming — about three hours away — to work as a firefighter.
Larimer County investigators found Passion would present as much as Wyoming fireplace scenes, work with fireplace crews and depart with out being paid for his work, the affidavit acknowledged. A fireplace administration officer with the Wyoming State Forestry Division mentioned the workplace had no document of Passion being an authorized firefighter or wildland firefighter.
Passion reportedly advised the ranch managers that he could be out of city in Wyoming on July 29 — the day the Alexander Mountain fireplace sparked.
But, in keeping with the affidavit, Passion and one other unidentified man sporting firefighting Nomex uniforms had been noticed on ranch property close to the hearth’s origin lower than 90 minutes after it was reported.
Passion was convicted in 1997 of impersonating a public officer in California, in keeping with court docket information. He was additionally charged in California in 1999 with a number of weapons-related and false imprisonment violations that had been later dismissed.
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