Forest Service asks for your help to catch wildfire arsonists
Although lightning strikes more often in Florida than any other state, it doesn’t spark as many wildfires as arsonists do. The Florida Forest Service is renewing its push for the public to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity, such as people returning and lingering around wildfires or actually setting a fire.
“We have just have a lot of wildfires that are intentionally set by humans in South
Florida,” said Scott Peterich, wildfire mitigation specialist for the Florida Forest Service.
The agency asks that if you spot a suspicious person or vehicle, get a license plate number and call the state’s Arson Alert Hotline at 800-342-5869.
Callers can remain anonymous, and their information could result in a reward of up to $5,000.
In the past three years, arsonists are suspected of setting 166 fires in South Florida, burning almost 2,500 acres. Of those fires, 148 were set in Miami-Dade County, 15 in Broward County and three in Palm Beach County.
During the same period 1,147 fires were intentionally set statewide, burning 21,890 acres.
Wildfire arsonists typically dump items such as boats and refrigerators in rural areas, set them on fire and disappear. Then dozens of acres of wildlands usually get burned in the process.
In some cases, the same arsonist hit the same area several times, Peterich said.
“We had a guy last year who was setting fire after fire near Zoo Miami,” Peterich said. “The Miami-Dade police detained him, but then had to let him go for lack of evidence.”
It’s extremely difficult to prove a person intentionally started a wildfire. In his nine years with the Forest Service, Peterich has yet to see one wildfire arsonist charged in South Florida.
“You almost have to have somebody say, ‘I saw him light it,’” he said.
While many wildfire arsonists maliciously seek a thrill, others try to dispose of garbage by burning it, Peterich said.
Either way, the fires are costly to taxpayers, who have to foot the bill every time Forest Service firefighters are dispatched. Further, the blazes could end up destroying homes in or near wooded areas.
“These are people who don’t care,” Peterich said.