An Aberdeen man was arrested for second-degree reckless burning and second-degree criminal trespass on Sunday morning following a fire upriver from the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport.

Joaquin Angelina Reyes, 59, was arrested after allegedly starting a fire in the grass that the Aberdeen Fire Department responded to.

“It was yesterday (Sunday) at 5:48 in the morning. A passerby had noticed a large patch of grass on fire,” said Cmdr. Steve Timmons. “AFD got on scene. They noted the suspect was still there.”

The fire was in the grass and in some remnants from former timber industry activity, said Chief Dave Golding of the AFD. Firefighters and employees from a nearby company had to dig to extinguish some spots that had gotten into the spalts in the area.

“They showed up to a 20-foot by 100-foot fire. They were on scene for just over two hours,” Golding said. “They actually had assistance from a nearby company. They brought an excavator to dig some areas. Looks like they had to do some pretty good digging to get in there and get it out.”

AFD’s full on-duty strength responded to the fire, Golding said.

“That was our entire staffing that day,” Golding said. “It worked out that there wasn’t any other calls at that time.”

Reyes is known to the department for similar activities in the past, Timmons said.

“The suspect admitted he had set the fire. He was arrested for reckless burning,” Timmons said. “He was interviewed and basically asked why, and his response was, ‘it’s just what I do.’”

Reyes is currently detained in the Aberdeen city jail. The case is still under investigation, Timmons said, and other charges may be forthcoming.

Dry conditions exacerbated the risk of a major fire, Golding said.

“That does not help at all. Everything is dry,” Golding said. “Even the little bit of moisture we got this morning was deceiving. We need a significant amount to really change the fire danger.”

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.