A 54-year-old man in Spain was arrested by police for allegedly causing at least 19 forest fires in the province of Cáceres over the last two years that devastated nearly 3,000 acres.
The 54-year-old was arrested by the Spanish Civil Guard and is a resident of the town of Moraleja in Cáceres. It is said the suspect drives a vehicle that was identified by witnesses in the vicinity of several forest fires that took place in 2021 and 2022.
Police have been investigating the suspicious forest fires since last year when they noticed an increase in small fires along and near the vicinity of main roadways, such as one known locally as the “Borbollón road,” the newspaper El Mundo reports.
The Nature Protection Unit (UPRONA) of the Cáceres Command initiated new investigations this summer after more fires were detected and more reports came in of the same vehicle being in the vicinity at the time.
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One of the fires became so serious that at least 800 local residents had to be evacuated from their homes and just over a week later another fire was allegedly set and burned around 2, 471 acres or 1,000 hectares. Again the same vehicle was spotted in the vicinity of the fires.
Spain struggled to deal with major forest fires over the summer months, with a fire in the northwestern province of Zamora so large that the smoke column could be seen from 18 miles away. Another fire in June laid waste to as many as 75,000 acres (30,000 hectares) in a mountain range on the border with Portugal.
By August, Spain had seen at least 400 forest fires and a total of 283,000 hectares of land devastated as a result of the fires, three times the amount of devastation from the prior summer.
Earlier this month, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) commented on the record number of wildfires that took place in Spain and across Europe saying, “The length and intensity of the heatwaves to hit Europe during the summer, combined with the general dry conditions on the continent during 2022, contributed to record-breaking wildfire activity.”
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.
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