Firefighters and volunteers have been battling bush fires on the island of Abaco for weeks. The Member of Parliament for Central and South Abaco shared what he thinks is the cause of the fires.

The Hon. John Pinder was asked about the possibility of arson he said, “we’ve noticed that fires are started up wind in places that were not affected before, fires down go up wind. So I’d like to send a plea out to keep your eyes open and be vigilant. If you see anybody doing mischief in the forest with fire please contact the police.”

Firefighting efforts were augmented over the weekend with the addition of a plane dropping water on affected areas. Pinder said, “Sunday we got the plane on the ground. He flew 9 hours from the States to get here. He directly went back in the air and dumped over 7,000 galloons that night and continued sunrise the next morning. This plane along with the five or six trucks from different communities in Abaco that came together to fight these fires were instrumental and critical in stopping this fire from taking any homes, businesses or residence.”

Pinder also expressed gratitude to those assisting in the fire fight. “I want to give a special thank you to the Marsh Harbour Fire and Rescue who is the point person on the ground and all of our brothers and sisters from other volunteer fire and rescue communities including Treasure Cay, Cherokee, High Banks, Bahama Palms Shores, Hope Town Fire and Rescue, Man-O-War and so much more.”

There have been no reported injuries as a result of the fires.