A man who said his Cimarron Hills neighborhood was “cursed” after a string of suspicious fires was arrested on suspicion of arson Friday.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office believes Clay Alan Cline, 52, started a fire Wednesday night that caused extensive damage to his house of nearly two decades.

“I think the residents are going to be a little relieved because there was some concern reported by the residents, according to some of the news articles I read,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Joe Roybal said Friday night.

“Hopefully, this puts the residents at ease, that at least this fire was solved,” he said.

Cline was booked into El Paso County jail on suspicion of first-degree arson. He is being held on $10,000 bond.

In an interview Thursday with The Gazette, Cline said the fire at his home at 1099 Kachina Drive, east of Powers Boulevard, may have started accidentally.

Cline said he had been using an oil lamp for light when he fell asleep on his living room sofa.

“I may have knocked it over while I slept,” Cline said.

“The heat from the flames woke me up, and I got out as quickly as I could,” he said.

The fire was reported about 10:50 p.m. Wednesday.

“Arson investigators from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and began a preliminary investigation shortly after the fire was extinguished,” according to a sheriff’s department news release. “Their investigation continued throughout the next two days” and resulted in Cline’s arrest.

Roybal declined to say how investigators linked Cline to the fire.

“I’d have to reveal the evidence. I can’t do that,” he said.

The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate other fires in the neighborhood, he said.

“We haven’t connected those to him (Cline), so we can’t say he’s a suspect in those fires,” Roybal said. “However, with those active investigations, we’re not going to reveal the cause of this fire or where it started. That may or may not be relevant to the other investigations. But just in case, we’re going to keep those details to ourselves.”

In May 2011, the house next to Cline’s was severely damaged by an early morning blaze that left a woman displaced.

In December, a modular home on the same block caught on fire twice within 24 hours, leading arson investigators to deem the blazes “suspicious.”

The same week, three other fires were reported in the neighborhood — in nearby bushes, and in a portable toilet.

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Clay Alan Cline Photo by