Ex-college professor accused of setting fires behind firefighters who were battling Dixie blaze in California

• A former professor was charged with arson after allegedly setting fires during the Dixie blaze.
• Gary Stephen Maynard was charged with five counts of arson to federal property.

A former college professor was charged with arson after he allegedly set fires behind the firefighters who were battling the Dixie wildfire in California over the summer, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.

San Jose resident Gary Stephen Maynard, 47, was charged with five counts of arson to federal property, court documents show.

Maynard allegedly set two fires on July 20 and 21, respectively, and two more on August 7, in Shasta Trinity and Lassen national forests, court documents show.

He has denied all the charges, his attorney told Insider.

Federal agents began to investigate him as early as July 20 and placed a tracking device on his car after a witness reported seeing Maynard in the area where a fire started, local news station CBS13 reported on Thursday.

Maynard faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of arson if he's found guilty, the U.S. Attorney's OfficeEastern District of California said in a statement.

Maynard's attorneys could not be immediately reached for comment by Insider.

The Dixie Fire scorched portions of California from early July to late October. Homes, buildings, and entire towns were engulfed in the inferno as it torched the mountainous Sierra Nevada region.

The Dixie Fire burned nearly 1 million acres before being 100% contained, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.