Dale Smallwood, a criminal investigator for Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest looks for clues to determine the cause of forest fires. A split, charred tree stump may indicate that lightening was to blame. On the other hand, Carbon particles indicate the exhaust of a passing truck was the culprit. And there are other ways to tell a fire was accidental. However, he comes down to arson in most of his investigations. Arsonists set 296 of the 172 Mark Twain fires that have broken out so far this year. Smallwood estimates, 70 percent of the forest fires each year in Missouri are deliberately set.
Dale Smallwood, a criminal investigator for Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest looks for clues to determine the cause of forest fires. A split, charred tree stump may indicate that lightening was to blame. On the other hand, Carbon particles indicate the exhaust of a passing truck was the culprit. And there are other ways to tell a fire was accidental. However, he comes down to arson in most of his investigations. Arsonists set 172 of the 296 Mark Twain fires that have broken out so far this year. Smallwood estimates, 70 percent of the forest fires each year in Missouri are deliberately set.