Two men were charged Sunday morning with setting fire to a church in east Texas and federal authorities said the men may face charges in nine other church fires.

The men, Jason Robert Bourque, 19, of Lindale, Tex., and Daniel George McAllister, 21, of Ben Wheeler, Tex., were arrested and charged with arson of a building in the Feb. 8 fire at Dover Baptist Church, located 15 miles northwest of Tyler, Tex.

Because the building was a church, the charges were elevated to a first-degree felony, said Thomas Crowley, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That felony carries a sentence ranging from probation to 99 years to life in prison, Mr. Crowley said.

Image Jason R. Bourque

“We’ve been looking at these guys for a while,” said Mr. Crowley. “But we had to paste together information.” He said various techniques led members of a special task force to the men, including DNA evidence and phone tips. A motive for the fires was still being investigated, federal authorities said.