<Wildfire apparently started by a part-time firefighter

I used to live in a reasonably rural area, in a neighborhood where many of the people had lead economically marginal lives for several generations. There was a house every half-mile or so, and the roads were winding. Most households had 4 or 5 cars, one of them might have moved in the last 3 years.

One guy made a substantial amount of money of a large wooden railroad trestle. In the summer he would start fires on it shortly after a train passed, two or three times season.

The railroad would hire anyone around to fight the fire. He would then be hired to clean up, make sure it was out, and so on. They suspected this guy, couldn’t prove anything, were afraid to NOT hire him.

The guy was a bit like a successful virus. He had to keep the railroad going through the area, had to keep ‘em from building a concrete structure, but still get his yearly “tribute”. Didn't want to kill the host.

Arf