Rabat – Morocco’s Royal Gendarmerie in Azrou arrested one person suspected of starting the recent Ifrane wildfires alongside his brother, Moroccan daily newspaper Al-Massae reported on Thursday.
The newspaper reported that the two detainees were turned over to the public prosecutor in Meknes, where their case will be investigated further.
The two brothers allegedly confessed to their involvement in starting the fires, claiming they lit a small fire nearby the forest to make breakfast one morning, unaware that it would spread to nearby plants.
Strong winds then helped the fire spread and consume the rest of the forest, in a fire that took more than a week to get under control and threatened to harm the city’s airport.
To contain the fire, authorities had to use four specialized Canadair scooper planes, in addition to other related equipment that required all of the region’s civil protection forces.
Morocco has witnessed the increased occurrence of wildfires this year, due to record-breaking temperatures, as well as drought and human negligence.
Lighting fires in forest areas for camps, or carelessly discarding cigarette butts, can cause vast fires to spread under the right circumstances. Researchers had previously warned that the human factor is the most important one in the start of such fires.
Police in northern Morocco arrested four suspects in August over suspected involvement in deliberately starting a forest fire.
