Police: Portland man arrested twice for starting multiple brush fires, including one with Molotov cocktail

A man in Portland, Oregon, was arrested twice this weekend and faces charges after police said he started several brush fires amid the disastrous wildfires on the West Coast.

On Sunday afternoon, police were called to assist Portland firefighters with a brush fire burning along the I-205 freeway. Police said 45-year-old Domingo Lopez Jr. started the fire by using a Molotov cocktail.

"Officers booked Domingo Lopez Jr., 45, into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of Reckless Burning and Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree. Arson investigators are also doing follow-up to see if other charges are warranted," reads a statement from the Portland Police Department.

The statement said that firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and reported no injuries or damage to buildings.

The man was released, but police said he then started six more small brush fires early Monday morning along the freeway. "Portland Fire and Rescue extinguished three of them while passing community members put out the other three. All were caught early. No one was injured and no structures were burnt. Officers located Domingo Lopez, Junior walking along the shoulder and arrested him. They seized a lighter as evidence," police said in a statement.

"Lopez was transported to a hospital on a Police Officer Hold for a mental health evaluation. He was issued citations for 6 additional counts of Reckless Burning," the statement said.

Raging wildfires have affected large cities in multiple states, including California, Oregon, and Washington. On Thursday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said in a press briefing that between 30,000 and 40,000 people have evacuated their homes as fires burned more than 900,000 acres of land.

President Trump is scheduled to fly to California to be briefed on the fires. “The president continues to support those who are battling raging wildfires in a locally executed, state-managed, and federally supported emergency response,” said White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere. At least 20 people have been killed by the fires.