The owner of a home that burned near Ferndale Wednesday was found in Bellingham.

KOMO reports ( http://bit.ly/XAnC9M) Whatcom County sheriff's detectives questioned Kenneth Cassell because they thought the fire may have been set.

The Bellingham Herald reports ( http://bit.ly/WJu9Dl) firefighters found notes and accelerants in the home.

The sheriff's office isn't revealing what the notes said, but it sent a SWAT team to the scene, concerned that a distraught owner was on the property and possibly armed. Firefighters backed out of the burning home while deputies searched a barn on the property.

Cassell was accused last year of running a puppy mill on the site. He was convicted of animal cruelty and violating a dog breeding law and sentenced to 10 days in jail. Forty-eight dogs were removed from the home.

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Information from: The Bellingham Herald, http://www.bellinghamherald.com