Overview

• A 17-year-old was caught in the act of igniting a pine forest fire in Montpellier’s Hauts de Massane on the evening of August 2 and is held in police custody.
• A witness’s rapid call prompted the Direction interdépartementale de la police nationale to deploy ground teams, a helicopter and a dash aircraft to the scene.
• Firefighters contained the blaze within hours, limiting damage to 4,700 square meters of pine woodland.
• The suspect, who does not reside in the affected neighborhood, was already known to police and exhibited rebellious behavior during his arrest.
• Investigators are now probing whether this incident is connected to a separate fire that broke out about 100 meters away the day before.