Police in Andalucia are investigating whether a wave of suspicious fires were deliberately started by organised crime gangs.
One theory being investigated is that trafficking gangs sparked the recent infernos in Algeciras to divert the attention of the Guardia Civil and other emergency services.
It comes after dozens of fires and attempted arson attacks were reported across the southern part of the city from the beginning of August.
Police sources familiar with the investigation said they doubt the person responsible fits the profile of a pyromaniac.
Instead, investigators are examining whether the blazes were started with a specific criminal objective.
One theory is that trafficking gangs used the fires to draw police patrols and emergency resources towards particular locations, temporarily weakening surveillance along other stretches of coastline.
Why police doubt the pyromaniac theory
A pyromaniac is someone who repeatedly starts fires because of a psychological impulse rather than for financial gain, revenge or another external purpose.
An arsonist, by contrast, may start a fire for profit, vandalism, intimidation, revenge or to facilitate another crime.
Investigators have also examined the weather conditions surrounding the Algeciras fires.
Someone intent on causing maximum damage might be expected to choose hot, windy conditions that would allow flames to spread quickly.
However, many of the recent fires broke out on calm days when conditions were not especially favourable for an uncontrolled blaze.
Police sources say this apparent pattern could support the theory that the purpose was to trigger emergency deployments rather than cause the greatest possible destruction.
Eight fires in a month
Concerns began to grow on August 2, when two vegetation fires broke out almost simultaneously in Los Alamillos and Agua Marina, beside the A-7.
The smoke could be seen across the city, and the motorway towards Tarifa had to be closed.
Another fire erupted in Chorrosquina, near the Carretera del Cobre, on August 4, followed by a blaze close to homes in Sotorebolo on August 19.
Eight fires were recorded in the southern part of Algeciras within a month. Several shared features, including their proximity to one another and the fact that they frequently started around dusk.
The crisis peaked on Thursday, September 17, when five fires or attempted fires were reported almost simultaneously at Parque del Centenario, Rio Picaro, Las Pantallas, Rosa de los Vientos and near Punta Europa University Hospital.
The forest fire at Las Pantallas required a major deployment by specialist wildfire service Infoca.
Suspect found with lighters
The investigation took a significant turn on Friday when Local Police arrested a man near Las Pantallas as another fire broke out in the area.
According to Algeciras City Council, he was carrying several lighters and had soot on his clothing, along with pieces of vegetation.
Mayor Jose Ignacio Landaluce described him as the suspected perpetrator of the latest fires but stressed that investigators must establish responsibility and that the presumption of innocence applies.
Focus on the southern coastline
The geographical concentration of the blazes is also being examined.
Punta Carnero, the lighthouse road, Getares, San Garcia, Sotorebolo and Cortijo Vides are all located within the same southern sector of Algeciras.
It is also an area where coastal surveillance was reinforced following a sharp rise in migration pressure across the Strait of Gibraltar after the mass arrivals in Ceuta at the end of July.
Guardia Civil and Policia Nacional officers established a specific security operation around Punta Carnero lighthouse amid reports of boats carrying migrants from Morocco and Ceuta.
Investigators are now trying to determine whether that timing and geographical overlap are coincidental or form part of a deliberate strategy to distract the authorities.
