A 45-year-old man was arrested for starting at least seven brush fires near a major highway in Oregon yesterday.
“A man arrested Sunday afternoon for allegedly starting a small brush fire along Interstate 205 was arrested again hours after he was released from jail after he allegedly started six more small fires,” read a statement issued by Portland Police.
The suspect, identified as Domingo Lopez Jr., reportedly had a Molotov cocktail with him when he was arrested the second time.
“After officers and firefighters put out a small brush fire along I-205 around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, a witness flagged down officers about an hour later and said the man who started the fires was in a nearby tent. Police spoke to Lopez Jr., who told officer he lit the fire, police said. He was arrested and a plastic bottle with a wick was seized as evidence,” KGW8 reported.
Deadly fires have ravaged the West Coast of the United States for several weeks, and are still burning. At least 35 people have died because of the flames so far.