Officials suspect arson in Patrick County blaze. A reward of $2,000 has been offered for leads after a 125-acre fire was ignited in Stuart last week.

Source: Roanoke Times By Chase Purdy 981-3334 A team of state fire investigators suspect that a Patrick County wildfire last week was deliberately set. Officials with the Virginia Department of Forestry said Tuesday they think the 125-acre blaze was ignited by one or more arsonists on Poorhouse Creek Road in Stuart on April10, possibly between noon and 12:45 p.m. Firefighters contained the flames in about 12 hours, but it took more than three days to suppress the fire and remove materials the fire burned. Jason McGhee, a technician with the state forestry department, has said more than two dozen residents were threatened by the fire. In their search for information about the blaze, authorities have offered a $2,000 reward for tips that lead to a conviction. Word of the suspected arson came the same day U.S. Forest Service officials in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests announced firefighters gained the upper hand in their battle against six fires that have burned through the region in the past week. At least one of those, the Barbours Creek fire, was suspected to have been human-caused, though not an arson. For days, lack of rain, strong winds and low humidity aggravated attempts to stifle the flames. Those conditions also affected the Patrick County fire, spreading it directly toward 10 homes and threatening 10 others, authorities said. McGhee described "woods arson" as a senseless criminal act. The charge, a felony in Virginia, brings with it the potential for five years in prison, a fine of $2,500 and possibly the bill for the suppression effort. Anyone with information about the Poorhouse Creek Road fire is asked to call the Virginia Department of Forestry at 276-694-2282.