Arsonist Hits Mobile County

Arson Fowl River A couple that lives near Fowl River takes a huge hit.

by Chad Petri

Published: Fri, April 17, 2009 - 4:06 pm CST Last Updated: Fri, April 17, 2009 - 4:09 pm CST

Realtor Connie Hamilton surveys the damage left by an intentionally set wildfire. It charred 70 acres of her property. What profit she and her husband were going to make from selling timber is likely up in smoke. Some parts are still smoldering, and every step you take, leaves a small cloud of ash in its wake. Without plant life, erosion from Fowl River is a bigger concern, and little touches of nature are gone.

“We've lost the dew berries, the black berries, and the wildflowers that usually bloom, no blackberries, I normally pick those and make jelly, but that's gone,” says Connie Hamilton. She says her biggest worry is that there's not much they can do to prevent this in the future.

“I'm very frustrated because if someone will set a fire I mean that's devastating to us,” says Hamilton. Fire officials say it's hard to catch an arsonist.

“Unless we see them light the match or somebody sees them light the match there's nothing we can do but we got some suspicions and we got people looking,” says Alabama Port Volunteer Fire Department Chief. No one was hurt in Wednesday's fires. Nine were set in total. Alabama Port fire chief Pat Burns speculates the criminal likes watching fire crews run around.

“If they interested that much in fire, come to the fire department, we'll put them to work,” says Burns. Hamilton and her husband are very upset by what happened and hope police catch the arsonist before they strike again, near Fowl River. The Alabama Forestry commission also helped contain the fires. If you have any information you're asked to call their arson tip-line at 1-800-222-2927.

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