$75,000 bail set for man in arsons around Seattle homeless camp

SEATTLE (AP) — Bail has been set at $75,000 for a man in connection with a series of fires set around a Seattle homeless encampment known as the Jungle.


The Seattle Times reports (http://goo.gl/ETmi3c ) a 50-year-old man is being held on investigation of arson.

Seattle police say at about 1:30 p.m. Monday a motorcyclist told police he saw an old couch on fire and a man standing by it with a purple bbq lighter in his hand.

The motorcyclist reportedly took photos of the man with his cellphone and sent them to police.

Firefighters put out the blaze and then noticed another fire in a vacant building nearby. Police say multiple additional fires popped up around the area.

Police say the suspect had a purple lighter when they arrested him near the Jungle on South Dearborn Street.