Furtado and Lee are both members of the Laton Volunteer Fire Department. Rick Moore, a battalion chief with CalFire and the Fresno County Fire Department, said Furtado served as the assistant chief and had been with the Laton volunteers for perhaps 10 to 12 years.

Furtado and Lee are both charged with arson of a structure or forest land and arson of property and are being held without bail. Moore said he expects the pair to be arraigned in Fresno on Wednesday.

Officials are staying mum about details of the investigation because several more arrests are expected as the case unfolds. So far, however, the only fires for which Furtado and Lee have been arrested are in Fresno County; Kings County Sheriff Chris Jordan said the pair have not been charged with the Kings Country Club fire, but they are being investigated in connection with that blaze.

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10:57 a.m.: Two members of the Laton Volunteer Fire Department have been arrested in connection with over 30 fires in Fresno and Kings counties, including a fire early this month that destroyed the Kings Country Club just south of Laton.

In custody are Christopher Furtado, 29, and Teddy Lee, 23, both of Laton. Investigators said Furtado was assistant chief, while Lee was a firefighter with the volunteer fire unit.

The arrests were announced today by Capt. Mike Bowman, a spokesman for Cal Fire/Fresno County Fire Protection District.

Bowman said the arrests were the results of several weeks of investigations, interviews and the collection of evidence from fires involving both wild land and structures.

The fire at the country club, which was being renovated, was reported on the night of July 7. The amount of the loss was estimated at more than $750,000.

Bowman said the suspects were booked into the Kings County Jail on arson charges, and that they would be transferred to the Fresno County Jail later today.