BATON ROUGE - A man tied to a house fire at 6139 Kleinpeter Road has been arrested on arson charges, according to the Baton Rouge Fire Department. 

A Tuesday news release says 31-year-old Keith Wilson was accused of setting fire to a vacant home and causing an estimated $10,000 in damages. 

Fire crews said on the day of the blaze, they saw Wilson running away from the burning home.

Wilson tried to explain why he was running away, officials say he told them he'd been smoking a cigarette outside of the house and after he dropped it on the ground his memory became fuzzy.

During this alleged lapse in memory, Wilson said he recalled seeing a cloud and flashing lights and that's when he ran away.

Wilson was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one charge of negligent arson.