ATTLEBORO – A 72-year-old man has been arrested after police say he deliberately set several wildfires in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
Suspected fires in Attleboro
A series of suspicious bushfires on November 12 led to a police investigation.
Wildfires broke out at the Attleboro Elks Lodge on South Main Street, the Manchester Reservoir on Begle Club Road, the Attleboro Wastewater Department on Pond Street North and the Attleboro Animal Shelter on the same road.
Attleboro police obtained surveillance video and later arrested Gerard Genest of South Attleboro. Genest was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Saturday evening.
Police have not released any details about what Genest is accused of.
When he was arrested, Attleboro Genest police were already investigating additional fires, including one set Saturday at the LaSalette Shrine on Park Street.
Genest will be arraigned in Attleboro District Court on Monday.
Attleboro Police Department
Brush fires in Massachusetts
With Massachusetts in the midst of an extremely dry fall, much of the state has been under intermittent red flag warnings in recent weeks. The whole state is in some sort of state drought indicationand the “severe drought” share rose to almost 70% last week.
Since September 1, most of southern New England has received between 6 and 10 inches less precipitation than average. Boston and Worcester may have the driest waterfalls on record.
Hundreds of acres of land have burned across Massachusetts as a result of brush burning which have spread quickly thanks to windy and dry conditions.
It was a man from Dorchester arrested earlier this month for allegedly starting a large forest fire in Milford.
