Man arrested on suspicion of setting two fires

The Judicial Police (PJ) arrested a 64-year-old man suspected of having started two forest fires in Cabeceiras de Basto, in the district of Braga, on August 2, this police force reported this Thursday.

The suspect, who is unemployed, was arrested outside of flagrant crime, he stressed.

In a statement, the PJ said that witnesses traveling on the National Road (EN205) noticed that around midnight a fire broke out in the parish of Painzela, in Cabeceiras de Basto.

After the fire was extinguished by passersby, a second fire broke out, but this time it spread quickly and did not cause major damage due to the intervention of firefighters, he explained.

Following the investigations, PJ inspectors collected “a significant amount of evidence that supports the accusation that the suspect was responsible for the two fires, presumably started by a direct flame”.

The location where the fires were started is in an area with "high potential for spreading to large areas of forest," which created a serious risk to the entire forest and homes, the PJ said.

The detainee, who has a criminal record for the same crime, will appear for his first judicial interrogation this Thursday.