PHOENIX – A man has been taken into custody and faces reckless burning charges after allegedly starting a small wildland fire in Flagstaff on Thursday, authorities said.
Raymond Glover Jr. started the fire near the northbound Interstate 17 off-ramp at JW Powell Boulevard, near the Pulliam Airport exit, according to the Flagstaff Police Department.
Emergency services responded to the fire around 11:20 a.m. and said it had been started on the north side of the street, near the Swift gas station.
Witnesses told authorities they saw a man standing near the fire watching it for several minutes before entering the gas station’s convenience store to buy food.
The man then walked out of the store and went back to watching the fire. Glover told a witness he had started the fire but later claimed he had been drinking and made that remark “in jest,” authorities said.
Upon further investigation, Glover was linked to two more fires: a fire on the southbound off-ramp that took place at 4 a.m. that morning, and a fire that occurred behind the Red Lobster, about three miles north from the sites near the airport, around 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
Glover is in custody and is facing charges related to reckless burning.
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