‘Firebug’, 71, is charged with ‘deliberately lighting a blaze that has destroyed 40 hectares of bushland’ and is showing no signs of slowing down
A 71-year-old man allegedly lit a blaze which has destroyed dozens of hectares of bushland.
Emergency services were called to a property 18km north-west of Moruya on the NSW South Coast after receiving reports of a fire.
The fire then spread to the nearby Wandera State Forest, where it is continuing to burn through more than 40 hectares of bushland.
A 71-year-old man allegedly lit a blaze which has destroyed more than 40 hectares of bushland (pictured Rural Fire Service crews battle to protect a home near Tahmoor south-west of Sydney on December 19)
NSW Police allege the man lit the fire without a permit and arrested him after speaking with him at the property in Araluen Road.
He was arrested and taken to Moruya Police Station, where he was charged with allegedly lighting a fire for land clearance or fire break without a permit.
He was also charged with allegedly permitting a fire to escape his land and allegedly causing damage.
The man was granted strict conditional bail and is due to appear at Moruya Local Court on Friday 10 January 2020.