He had been spotted by residents of the town of Sernhac. He would be responsible for a fire of 7 hectares and another of 5000m², which required air drops.
A man, originally from Gard, confessed while in police custody on Saturday to be the author of two fires in the town of Sernhac, one of which had covered 7 hectares on July 8, we learned from the Nimes public prosecutor’s office.
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A judicial inquiry will be opened this afternoon and the individual will be remanded in custody.given the serious disturbance to public order and the risk of repetition“, said in a press release the prosecutor of Nîmes, Eric Maurel.
On Friday, this man was spotted by residents when he had just started a fire in the town of Sernhac, the Gard firefighters told AFP. The flames had covered 5000 m2. An early drop from a Dash plane and a helicopter, supported by firefighters on the ground, had made it possible to limit the spread of the fire.
Near a UNESCO World Heritage-listed aqueduct
A week earlier, on July 8, this same individual had caused a first fire that had covered 7 hectares, already in Sernhac, in an area adjoining the remains of a Roman aqueduct over 2000 years old and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unesco.
This fire had required several drops of Canadairs, a Dash and the helicopter of the Gard firefighters, as well as the mobilization of a hundred firefighters and 25 fire-fighting devices. Several homes had to be protected but the fire did not cause any injuries.
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