CLARKSTON, WA – A Clarkston man has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson after authorities say he intentionally set fire to his home on Sycamore Street Thursday morning.

According to court documents, officers and firefighters responded around 11:24 a.m. on September 11 to a fully engulfed fire at a residence in the 300 block of Sycamore Street. The blaze was reported by a Public Utilities District employee who had just arrived at the home.

Neighbors told police they saw 41-year-old Issac J. Phelps leaving the residence shortly before smoke and flames were spotted coming from the structure. Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators reportedly showed Phelps moving items out of the home, pulling away with a boat and trailer, and later returning to the area of the house where the fire began.

Investigators with the Clarkston and Lewiston fire departments determined the fire originated from a couch inside the home. A container holding diesel fuel was also located at the scene.

Police say Phelps admitted to starting the fire, stating he used diesel and lit paper to ignite it. He allegedly told officers he believed the house was unsafe and made people sick.  One witness told police that Phelps had stated to them that he wanted to burn the home down, but they thought he was “just rambling about it.”

Phelps was taken into custody at the scene and booked into jail on a charge of first-degree arson.