2 Arrested over forest fires that killed 137 people in Chile

A firefighter and a former forestry worker were arrested Friday for allegedly setting multiple fires that killed 137 people on Feb. 3 in Valparaiso, Chile.

The two unnamed suspects are believed to have started multiple fires that burned simultaneously, with wind and high temperatures fanning the flames and causing them to spread quickly.

The fire also affected more than 16,000 people and was Chile’s deadliest fire and second-deadliest natural disaster after a February 2010 magnitude 8.8 earthquake that triggered a tsunami that killed about 800 people.

“There were about four outbreaks that were equidistant from each other,” prosecutor Osvaldo Ossandon said.

One suspect previously worked at the Conaf office of the National Forestry Corporation, which manages Chile’s forestry policy, and the other is a firefighter.

One of the suspects is believed to be linked to six previous fires in the Penuelas Reserve.

While searching a suspect’s home, investigators found an arson device used to start one of the fires, the Valparaiso prosecutor’s office said during a court hearing Saturday.

Chilean officials said they continue to investigate the pair’s activities to see if they are linked to other arsons.

Valparaiso is located about 120 kilometers northwest of Chile’s capital Santiago.