A 49-year old man is facing arson charges, after allegedly starting multiple small fires in santa cruz on friday. Merced resident Victor Vargas-Chavez was arrested shortly after the 2nd incident, which occurred at san Lorenzo park. At 12:35 p.m., Vargas-Chavez is accused of setting a tree and a fence post on fire. About an hour and a half before that, santa cruz fire fighters had responded to another report of someone setting a tree on fire. That incident occurred in front of a hotel on the 5-hundred block of Ocean Street. No injuries were reported in either incident. Vargas-Chavez was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail.
