63-year-old neighbour arrested as suspected perpetrator of Vilar de Cervos fire that ravaged 1,800 hectares
The Guardia Civil arrested the suspect after nearly a year of investigation. He is the second person detained over the Vilardevós fires in 2025.
Suspected perpetrator of major forest fire in Vilardevós arrested after eleven months of investigation
The Judicial Police Unit of the Guardia Civil in Ourense arrested a 63-year-old man on Tuesday, a resident of the Monterrei district, as the suspected person responsible for the forest fire that on 13 August 2025 ravaged 1,800 hectares in the village of Vilar de Cervos, municipality of Vilardevós. According to reports from atlantico.net, the arrest came after a complex investigation lasting nearly a year.
The detainee appeared the same day before Instruction Court number 1 in Verín. The duty judge ordered his release on bail and imposed a precautionary measure requiring him to report to the court every fifteen days to prevent any possible flight risk.
The fire, which the authorities consider to be of presumed intentional origin, was detected at 16:30 hours just 500 metres from homes, at the junction of the roads to Vilardevós and Verín. The flames spread rapidly towards other settlements, which forced the authorities to decree the preventative confinement of Vilar de Cervos and subsequently the village of Bustelo.
That day the province of Ourense was going through an emergency situation that overwhelmed the available firefighting resources. In the absence of initial official personnel, the residents themselves organised with tractors, lorries and water tankers to fight the fire. They fought alone until past eleven at night, when four brigades from the province of A Coruña arrived as reinforcement.
During the days the fire remained active, a total of 3 technicians, 23 officers, 16 brigades, 15 motorised water pumps, 3 helicopters and 7 aircraft were mobilised. Firefighting operations continued for more than a week.
This arrest represents the second significant judicial development related to the 2025 fire campaign in Vilardevós. A 48-year-old resident of Terroso, with previous convictions, is currently in provisional prison accused of another fire in the same locality that burned 578 hectares, affected seven rural settlements and left two people with minor injuries. For this second defendant, the Public Prosecutor's Office is seeking 6 years in prison and payment of approximately €834,000 in respect of the costs of the firefighting operation.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)