State fire investigators have arrested a 48-year-old man suspected of starting two wildland fires that ignited Jan. 21 in San Diego County.

Ruben Vasquez, 48, was arrested Feb. 28 and remained in San Diego County jail Monday in lieu of $500,000 bail, according to inmate records. He faces two felony counts of arson in connection to the Pala Fire and the Lilac Fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported Saturday.

The fires were started about 25 minutes apart near Interstate 15 and State Route 76 in the Pala Mesa and Bonsall areas and burned nearly 100 acres, Cal Fire reported.

The fires, which occurred during gusty Santa Ana conditions, prompted the evacuation of hundreds of surrounding residents, according to the state fire agency.

“Witness reports and investigative efforts led to the identification of Vasquez as a suspect,” Cal Fire wrote in a press release Saturday.

On Friday, Cal Fire law enforcement investigators arrested Vasquez on suspicion of two counts of felony arson. He was taken to the Vista Detention Facility in San Diego County.

The investigation will be referred to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, according to Cal Fire.

Suspect Not Cal Fire Employee

“We are aware of confusion regarding the recent arrest of Ruben Vasquez and an employee of Cal Fire,” the agency wrote on social media platform X on Sunday. “The suspect and our employee have similar names, but they are not related. The names differ in spelling as well. We can confirm that the suspect is not a Cal Fire employee.”

Cal Fire stressed that arson investigations are “complex and require thorough evidence collection, scene examination, and witness interviews, which can be time-consuming.”

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, North County Fire Protection District, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office provided support during the investigation.

In this long exposure photo, a helicopter surveys the scene during the Lilac fire in unincorporated San Diego County, California on Jan. 21, 2025. (Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images)

Officials involved in Vasquez’s case were not able to discuss details about him Monday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Cal Fire, and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office all declined to say where Vasquez lived.

“I am only able to release what’s in the news release,” Cal Fire Spokesman Mike Cornette told The Epoch Times.

Border Patrol spokesman Jaime Ruiz also declined to provide more details about the defendant.

“The news release is the only information available,” Ruiz told The Epoch Times in an email Monday.

The case was forwarded for charges to the San Diego County district attorney, but employees at the office weren’t ethically allowed to discuss the case until after arraignment, according to spokesman Steve Walker.

“Our ethical obligations don’t allow us to discuss facts or evidence of a case we are reviewing for potential criminal charges,” Walker told The Epoch Times in an email Monday. “Once arraignment occurs, we can discuss a defendant’s city of residence.”

Vasquez is scheduled for a court arraignment Tuesday, according to Walker.

The San Diego fires came on the heels of fires in Los Angeles that caused massive destruction and killed at least 29 people.

Cal Fire also did not return a request for comment Monday about the ongoing investigation into the cause of the Palisades and Eaton fires that started Jan. 7.