A suspected arsonist has been arrested in south-east France after six separate forest fires had been reported nearly concurrently close to Nice.
Some 40 firefighters, supported by personnel from the Force Opérationnelle Risques Catastrophes Environnement (FORCE 06) company, and three water-bombing helicopters had been referred to as to the scene of the fires on Tuesday, September sixteenth.
In complete, an estimated 2,000 sq. meters of vegetation and land had been burnt within the blazes, which all came about across the village of Châteauneuf-Villevieille within the Alpes-Maritimes département. No houses had been in danger and no accidents had been reported.
A 58-year-old resident of the village was restrained by locals, after a person was noticed within the neighborhood of one of many fires. He was handed over to police and, reportedly, taken to hospital.
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About two weeks beforehand a automotive was destroyed and an space of land within the village was broken in separate incidents, prompting concern that an arsonist was within the space.
The village is situated within the Nice hinterland, some 20km from the regional capital, and overlooking the Paillon valley.
Much of southern France stays on excessive alert for wildfires after a scorching and dry summer season.
Earlier in the summertime France suffered its worst wildfire in 50 years, with 80,000 hectares of land burned and one life misplaced in a blaze close to Narbonne.
