Linh Ta

The Des Moines Register

DES MOINES — A second teen was arrested in connection with a fire that destroyed the Cedar Bridge in Madison County on Saturday.

Joel Davis, 18, of Norwalk, Iowa, was charged with first-degree arson on Wednesday, according to the Madison County Sheriff's Office.

On Monday, Alexander Hoff, 17, of West Des Moines was also charged with first-degree arson.

Barnes said Hoff will be tried as an adult. His bond is set at $100,000, cash only.

Related:

'Bridges of Madison County' author Robert James Waller dies at 77

Arson suspected in fire that destroyed iconic Madison County bridge

The Madison County Sheriff's Office received a report of the fire at the Cedar Bridge at about 6 a.m. CT Saturday. The bridge was fully engulfed by the time fire crews and law enforcement got to the scene about 20 minutes later, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office received a tip about the suspects and “things started falling into place real quick,” Madison County Sheriff Jason Barnes said during a news conference Tuesday.

There’s a possibility more people could be arrested, depending on evidence from the investigation, Barnes said.

He said there was a reason the bridge was set on fire, but would not go into detail.

"It was a target," Barnes said, during the news conference. "That's all I'm going to say."

The sheriff’s office declined to share the details, citing the ongoing investigation.

The original Cedar Bridge was built in 1883 before it burned in 2002. Investigators quickly determined that fire to be arson, but no arrests were ever made. About a year later, another Madison County bridge was the target of arsonists; the Hogback Bridge sustained minimal damage when it was set on fire in September 2003.

The Cedar Bridge was rebuilt and reopened in 2004. Barnes said he believes the reconstruction cost about $1 million.

Before the Cedar Bridge fire in 2002, the last time Madison County had lost a bridge to arson — the McBride Bridge — was in 1983. Authorities arrested a local man.

It was the Cedar Bridge that graced the cover of Robert Waller's best-selling 1992 book, The Bridges of Madison County.

Follow Linh Ta on Twitter: @linhmaita