Tire shop owner Kerry Michael Bolton was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree arson for a July 16 fire that destroyed Bolton Tire Pros on Guide Meridian.
Lynden Police Chief Steve Taylor said detectives found “sufficient probable cause” to charge Bolton, 46, but declined to go into specifics. The fire on July 16 destroyed the shop at 8165 Guide Meridian.
The shop’s website states that the shop is “temporarily closed due to a fire that occurred at our location.”
Fire Chief Mark Billmire said the department was called in just before midnight July 16. He said it took 25 firefighters about an hour and a half to extinguish the fire and crews were on scene until 7 a.m. the next morning.
Fire crews said large numbers of burning tires at the shop made the blaze challenging to fully extinguish.
“When the crews showed up, it was just really ripping and fully involved,” Billmire said.
On Sunday, the Lynden Police Department and the Sherriff’s Office began investigating the cause of the fire. Billmire said investigators reviewed videotape from Lynden Lube next door.
Bolton said the investigation remains open.
