Larry Bourdeau, 64, of Boulder Creek, was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 24, on suspicion of setting a fire at The Mountain Store north of town.

Sheriff’s deputies were called to the store at about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, and teamed up with Boulder Creek fire crews to investigate the charred remains of a bulletin board attached to the front of the store.

Deputies examined the store’s surveillance video, which showed the bulletin board in flames. At about midnight, three unidentified teenage boys were seen at the market, and they extinguished the fire. Deputies said that if not for the boys’ actions, the store might have been lost.

Using the video footage, deputies and detectives from the sheriff’s investigation team were able to identify Bourdeau as the person who started the fire.

Bourdeau was arrested at the Santa Cruz County Jail. He had been locked up for making a 9-1-1 call that violated his probation from a previous arson conviction.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 25, he remains in custody, with bail set at $25,000.

The sheriff’s office invites anyone with information about the identity of the three boys who put out the fire to call the Sheriff’s Investigation Division at 454-2311.

“We’d sure like to thank them,” sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Campos said.