LIRQUEN, Chile: Police in south-central Chile have arrested a man on suspicion of starting one of the recent wildfires that killed 21 people and razed entire neighborhoods, the government said Wednesday.
Security Minister Luis Cordero said the suspect used a liquid accelerant to start fires in a wheat field, with authorities seizing five liters (more than a gallon) of fuel from him.
He was arrested at dawn in the town of Perquenco in Araucania region, south of Biobio.
The fires began simultaneously on Saturday in various parts of Biobio and Nuble regions, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the capital Santiago.
Fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, the flames quickly ripped through the coastal towns of Penco, Lirquen and Punta de Parra, leaving a blackened landscape of smoldering ruins.
