Prosecutors contend 52-year-old Rickey Jimenez was behind the tiny fires that erupted last month in the Lake Hughes area. The largest burned about an acre and all were contained without property damage.

Jimenez is from Lake Hughes. He pleaded not guilty yesterday to eight felony arson counts that carry a maximum life sentence.

Jimenez was sent to prison in 1988 for a series of nail salon fires in the San Fernando Valley. He also has a 1979 arson conviction for a school fire.