Arsonist arrested for setting fires near wildfires raging in Nevada: police

A suspected arsonist has been arrested near the site of a massive blaze that scorched over 200,000 acres along the California-Nevada border, according to police.

29-year-old Damien Pineda-Contreras was taken into custody and charged with felony third-degree arson after officers found him carrying lighter fluid and fire-starting materials in north Reno this past weekend. Authorities had "observed a vehicle enter the roadway from a vacant dirt lot off the roundabout at Dandini Boulevard and Spectrum Boulevard without its headlights on."

"Deputies then noticed a small brush fire burning in the area the vehicle had just exited," police said.

Responding officers extinguished the flames and determined that the fire had been deliberately ignited using wooden logs arranged in a teepee shape amid the surrounding brush, the sheriff's office reported. Authorities were able to locate Pineda-Contreras in a nearby business and they found split logs along with lighter fluid and fire-starting materials.

He was then taken to the Washoe County Detention Facility and charged with arson. He is accused of starting the fire, as there have been wildfires in the area that have led to mass evacuations.

In August, there were approximately 228,000 acres burned before firefighters were able to control the blaze, per the New York Post.

The Hawk, Bug, and Stallion fires have been along the Nevada-California border, but are now mostly contained. The Bug fire burned around 94,000 acres, and around 41,000 was burned by the Stallion fire. Dozens of homes have been burned down.

Officials have said that the fires were started by people, but what actions caused them are under investigation.