The Polícia Judiciária announced today the arrest of two men, suspected of committing a crime of forest fire using a lighter in the Lousã area, Coimbra district.
In a statement, the PJ reported that, through the Directorate of the Center, with the collaboration of the Working Group for the Reduction of Ignitions in the Central Coast Rural Area (consisting of Polícia Judiciária, Guarda Nacional Republicana, and the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests), the two men were arrested, allegedly using “direct flame (lighter)” to set fire to a rural land on August 18 in the Lousã area.
The PJ explained that the rural land was “fallow and composed of dense spontaneous vegetation (herbaceous and brambles), located near homes and in the vicinity of the large forest area of Serra da Lousã.”
Meteorological conditions on that day indicated “maximum fire risk, with very high temperatures and low relative humidity, conducive to causing a large-scale fire, so only the quick and effective intervention of the Lousã Municipal Firefighters prevented this from happening.”
The detainees, aged 20 and 23, will appear before the Judicial Court of Coimbra for a first judicial interrogation and the application of coercive measures.
