Police questioning four boys about 'deliberately lit' fire in Tasmania's north
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Police are speaking with four boys in relation to a deliberately lit fire that threatened homes in George Town in Tasmania's north.
On Tuesday, the fire triggered an emergency warning from the Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) and prompted a number of homes to be evacuated.
Four aircraft and a ground crew of 60 tackled the blaze as it threatened homes at Marguerite Street, Alfred Street and Mount George Road.
Police Sergeant Andrew Hanson said they were speaking to a group of boys about how the fire started.
"Obviously, the fire has been determined as being deliberately lit, so from there we have commenced an investigation that has involved doorknocking the majority of houses bordering the Blue Gum Park," he said.
"Some information provided by witnesses at the time has led us to identify a small group of people that may have been in the vicinity at the time, so we're currently in the process of speaking to work out what involvement, if any, they had."
TFS George Town Brigade Chief Andrew Taylor said the fire was under control by Tuesday night.
"We're in the mopping out, blacking out phase, so there's no active fire," he said.
"As the temperature warms up during the course of the afternoon, we'll be dealing with those with a couple of crews on the ground."
The fire burned out 12 hectares, destroying pasture and damaging power poles.
Topics: fires, disasters-and-accidents, george-town-7253, tas
