Arizona arson laws split fire crimes into several offenses under Title 13, Chapter 17 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, and the charge you face depends on three things: what burned, your mental state when the fire started, and whether anyone was in or near the structure. The most serious charge, arson of an occupied structure, is a Class 2 felony with a presumptive five-year prison sentence that climbs to a presumptive 10.5 years, and a maximum of 21, when someone is seriously injured. The least serious, reckless burning, is a Class 1 misdemeanor with up to six months in jail. Everything in between turns on definitions written into the statutes themselves.
The Arson Offenses in Arizona
Arson of an Occupied Structure
Under ARS 13-1704, a person commits this offense by knowingly and unlawfully damaging an occupied structure by knowingly causing a fire or explosion. It is a Class 2 felony, the most serious arson charge the state recognizes.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1704 – Arson of an Occupied Structure; Classification
“Occupied” does not mean a person has to be inside when the fire starts. The statute reaches any structure where people are likely to be present and includes every dwelling house regardless of whether anyone is home at that moment. An empty apartment at 2 a.m. still qualifies because residents are expected to return. A closed restaurant may not, but one during business hours does.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1701 – Definitions
Arson of a Structure or Property
ARS 13-1703 covers fires that damage unoccupied structures or personal property, with classification depending on what burned and, for property, its dollar value:3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1703 – Arson of a Structure or Property; Classification
- Any unoccupied structure, regardless of value: Class 4 felony.
- Property worth more than $1,000: Class 4 felony.
- Property worth $100 to $1,000: Class 5 felony.
- Property worth $100 or less: Class 1 misdemeanor.
Because the line between a felony and a misdemeanor sits at exactly $100, and the line between a Class 5 and a Class 4 sits at $1,000, valuation becomes a real fight in borderline cases.
Arson of an Occupied Jail or Prison Facility
ARS 13-1705 makes it a separate Class 4 felony to knowingly cause a fire or explosion that physically damages a jail or prison facility. The charge typically reaches inmates or others with access to a correctional environment.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1705 – Arson of an Occupied Jail or Prison Facility; Classification
Burning of Wildlands
ARS 13-1706 prohibits setting fire to wildlands belonging to someone else, or letting a fire you started spread onto another person’s land. Four mental states yield four different classifications:5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1706 – Burning of Wildlands; Exceptions; Classification
- Criminal negligence: Class 2 misdemeanor.
- Recklessness: Class 1 misdemeanor.
- Intentional or knowing violation of a government fire ban: Class 6 felony.
- Intentional burning that places a person in danger of death or serious injury, or threatens another person’s building: Class 3 felony.
The statute carves out exceptions for lawful agricultural burning, fire management by local governments, prescribed burns authorized by the state forester, and activities conducted under state, tribal, or federal agency rules. Cooking or warming fires on public land that don’t spread are also exempt when no fire ban is in effect.
Criminal penalties are not the only exposure. Arizona’s state forester can pursue reimbursement from individuals and businesses for the full cost of suppressing wildland fires caused by negligence or criminal acts. Large suppression operations routinely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the bill follows the person responsible.
Reckless Burning
ARS 13-1702 catches fires caused by reckless behavior rather than deliberate intent. A person commits reckless burning by recklessly causing a fire or explosion that damages an occupied structure, a structure, wildland, or property. “Recklessly” means being aware of a substantial risk that your conduct would start a fire and consciously disregarding it. Reckless burning is a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1702 – Reckless Burning; Classification7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-707 – Misdemeanors; Sentencing
This charge frequently applies to unattended campfires, carelessly discarded cigarettes, and fireworks used in dry conditions. A person who genuinely did not realize the risk is not reckless under the statute; reckless burning requires conscious awareness of the danger.
Prison Terms for Arson Felonies
Arizona does not use a flat sentence for each felony class. ARS 13-702 sets a range from mitigated to aggravated for a first-time, non-dangerous offender, and the judge picks a term inside that range based on the circumstances:8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-702 – First Time Felony Offenders; Sentencing
- Class 2 felony: 3 to 12.5 years, with a 5-year presumptive term.
- Class 3 felony: 2 to 8.75 years, with a 3.5-year presumptive term.
- Class 4 felony: 1 to 3.75 years, with a 2.5-year presumptive term.
- Class 5 felony: 6 months to 2.5 years, with a 1.5-year presumptive term.
- Class 6 felony: 4 months to 2 years, with a 1-year presumptive term.
Those ranges change hard when the fire causes serious physical injury. The offense then becomes a “dangerous” felony under ARS 13-704, and the minimums and maximums jump. A dangerous Class 2 felony carries a minimum of 7 years, a presumptive of 10.5, and a maximum of 21.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-704 – Dangerous Offenders; Sentencing Prior felony convictions push the range higher still: one prior dangerous felony sets the Class 2 range at 14 to 28 years, and two or more prior dangerous felonies push it to 21 to 35 years.
Definitions That Decide the Charge
The statute’s definitions in ARS 13-1701 do real work in classifying any given fire.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1701 – Definitions
A “structure” is any building, object, vehicle, watercraft, aircraft, or place with sides and a floor used for lodging, business, transportation, recreation, or storage. That reaches far beyond conventional buildings. A parked RV, a storage shed, and a houseboat all qualify.
“Property” is anything other than a structure that has value, tangible or intangible, public or private. Personal belongings, documents, electronics, and equipment all count.
“Damage” is any physical or visual impairment of any surface. The bar is low. Smoke discoloration on a wall counts; structural destruction is not required.
“Wildland” is brush-covered land, cutover land, forest, grassland, or woods.
When Federal Charges Can Also Apply
A state arson charge is not the ceiling. Setting a fire can trigger federal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. ยง 844 when the property is connected to interstate commerce, is owned or leased by the federal government, or receives federal funding. Federal and state charges are not mutually exclusive, so the same fire can produce prosecutions in both courts.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 844 – Penalties
- Transporting explosives interstate with intent to destroy property: up to 10 years.
- Same offense causing personal injury: up to 20 years.
- Same offense causing death: any term of years, life, or the death penalty.
- Damaging federal or federally funded property by fire: 5 to 20 years; 7 to 40 if someone is injured or placed at substantial risk; a minimum of 20 years, life, or the death penalty if someone dies.
Federal prosecutors tend to get involved when a fire targets government property, crosses state lines, or involves domestic terrorism. The federal scheme has mandatory minimums that Arizona’s system generally does not impose for standard arson offenses.
Defenses That Come Up in Arson Cases
Arson prosecutions rely heavily on fire-origin evidence, and that evidence is increasingly contested. A few defense strategies recur:
Accidental origin. If the fire started from faulty wiring, a mechanical failure, or another non-criminal cause, there is no crime. Defense experts often conduct independent origin-and-cause analyses to challenge the state’s investigator.
Lack of the required mental state. Every Arizona arson statute specifies a mental state. Arson of an occupied structure requires “knowingly.” A person who did not know their actions would cause a fire, or did not know the structure could be occupied, lacks what the statute demands.
Challenging the fire-scene conclusions. Flashover, where a room reaches temperatures that ignite everything simultaneously, can destroy or mask the burn patterns investigators rely on. Long-burning fires create overlapping patterns that make origin determination unreliable. The National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 921 is the benchmark guide for fire investigation, and defense teams retain fire scientists to show when the state’s origin opinion cannot be reached to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty.
Fire investigation has no mandatory national standard. NFPA 921 is a guide, not a regulation, and courts have recognized that convictions based on methods since scientifically discredited can support an appeal. On both sides, the quality of the expert testimony often decides the case.