Pyromaniac caught red-handed setting fresh blazes near raging Nevada inferno: cops

A suspected arsonist was busted setting a new fire near where more than 200,000 acres burned near the California-Nevada border, police said.

Damien Pineda-Contreras, 29, was arrested and booked on a felony charge of third-degree arson after police caught him with lighter fluid and fire starters in north Reno over the weekend, according to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said they “observed a vehicle enter the roadway from a vacant dirt lot off the roundabout at Dandini Boulevard and Spectrum Boulevard without its headlights on,” the department said.

“Deputies then noticed a small brush fire burning in the area the vehicle had just exited.”

Officers worked to put out the fire, noting that the blaze appeared to have been set from a pile of split wooden logs that were stacked in a teepee formation within the surrounding sagebrush, according to the department. 

The department said fire crews were called to make sure the fire no longer posed a threat.

A short time later, deputies said they located Pineda-Contreras at a nearby business and made contact with him. 

Inside the front cab of his vehicle, deputies said they found several split wooden logs, lighter fluid and tumbleweed fire starters.

Deputies also discovered several lighters and boxes of matches.

Pineda-Contreras was taken to the Washoe County Detention Facility, where he was booked on the arson charge.

He’s accused of sparking the blaze as a series of wildfires raged in area, forcing mass evacuations. 

The combined Hawk, Bug, and Stallion Fires burning in August scorched more than 228,000 acres before firefighters got them under control.

The Hawk Fire exploded in Verdi on the Nevada-California border and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes before it was mostly contained.

The Bug blaze burned 93,733 acres while the Stallion fire scorched another 40,691 acres, together destroying dozens of homes.

Officials said the three wildfires were started by humans, but the exact circumstances are still under investigation.

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