ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A rise in arson cases across Asheville has fire officials calling attention to the issue during Arson Awareness Week.
Investigators say some of that spike may be linked to better reporting, but they also point to a growing concern: vacant and damaged buildings left behind after Helene.
“It can range anywhere from somebody who is thrill seeking to somebody who is using it for insurance fraud to crime concealment,” Charley Cox, an investigator with the Asheville Fire Department, said…