Man arrested for arson after igniting brush fire amid Nevada wildfire crisis
Police detained 29-year-old Damien Pineda-Contreras in north Reno after finding lighter fluid and fire starters in his vehicle and linking him to a small brush fire.
In north Reno, Washoe County deputies spotted a vehicle entering a vacant lot without headlights and immediately noticed a small brush fire at the exit point. Fire crews were called to suppress the flames, which seemed to have been ignited from a stack of split wooden logs arranged in a teepee shape among sagebrush. Shortly after, officers found Damien Pineda-Contreras, 29, at a nearby business and searched his vehicle, uncovering lighter fluid, tumbleweed fire starters, several lighters and boxes of matches.
He was taken to the Washoe County Detention Facility and charged with third-degree arson. The arrest came while the region grappled with the combined Hawk, Bug and Stallion wildfires that have scorched more than 228,000 acres and destroyed dozens of homes. Authorities have indicated that all three major fires were human-caused, though investigations are ongoing.
Why it matters
The arrest highlights ongoing arson risks that can worsen already devastating wildfires and endanger communities.
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