Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that the Soldotna Police Department responded to the incident.
A man accused of setting the women’s bathroom on fire in a public park faces a felony arson charge.
Jason R. Raymond, 36, allegedly started the fire in a restroom stall at Soldotna Creek Park on Saturday.
Witnesses reported seeing Raymond go into and exit the building just before the bathroom started burning, according to a Soldotna Police Department affidavit filed with the court.
Officers responding to the scene reported smelling burning plastic in the restroom, and saw heavy black smoke and flames coming from one of the stalls. Damages to the bathroom were estimated at more than $750.
Raymond, who was stopped by police near the scene of the fire, had soot on his sweatshirt and two lighters in his pockets, and smelled strongly of alcohol, according to the affidavit.
Raymond denied starting the fire. He is charged with second-degree arson, a class B felony; second-degree criminally negligent burning, a class A misdemeanor; and third-degree criminal mischief, a class C felony.
