The first fire started about 9 p.m. Thursday, and within an hour all three buildings were in flames, said Kevin Patton, spokesman for the Denton County Sheriff's Department. Ten fire departments battled the blaze.
Billy Gene Howard, 48, was taken into custody about 9:45 p.m. after authorities found him covered with fuel accelerant and standing near one of the blazing buildings, said Northlake police Lt. Brian Harpole.
No injuries were reported.
Lone Star Bank foreclosed on the widely known 192-acre ranch at an auction last month after its original owner, Lynda ``Texas Lil'' Arnold, could not come up with the $2.4 million owed to the bank.
The bank sold the property last week to DKM, a real estate partnership, Lone Star Bank President Joe Goyne told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for a story in Friday editions.
Arnold, who lives on the ranch, said she was watching TV when she saw a ranch hand speed by in his vehicle. She grabbed her tennis shoes and ran out the door but didn't see the fire at first, she said.
Then she saw the main building and the Longhorn hall, which housed a restaurant.
``It was just blazing,'' she said. ``It's my whole life. I've spent 27 years building this place, 27 years. It's just terrible.''
Arnold used a $2 million loan to build a 38,000-square-foot conference and events center known as the dance hall. But she said business declined after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the stage that had featured musical acts such as Willie Nelson went unused.
