Three people have been charged after they were reported to have set fires earlier this week in New South Wales, the state hardest hit by forest fires in Australia, while police say they have taken Actions against more than 180 people for crimes related to setting forest fires.
The states of eastern and southern Australia have been suffering from the forest fire crisis for months, and the authorities said many of the fires were the result of crimes from vandals, some of whom were 16 years old.
On Monday, police said that three people were charged with violating the blanket fire ban, amid great danger of fires early this week.
It was reported that two incidents occurred on Saturday and Sunday in the Koma and Taro regions were caused by attempts to set fire to cooking, while another incident involved the ignition of multiple small fires in Kuntjani on Sunday.
In all three cases, rural fire service personnel had to be used to put out the fires. The police said that the three suspects will appear in court within the next three months.
At least 60 homes were destroyed by fires in the southern state of New South Whale on Saturday.
New South Wales police said Monday that they have taken legal measures - from warnings to criminal prosecution - against 183 people, including 40 juveniles in relation to 205 forest fires since November.
