Interviews conducted by police with two campers suspected of igniting a wildfire in Cold Springs have since been released to the public, revealing details leading up to the 600-acre fire.
More than 2,000 people have been evacuated since the fire began in the coals of the reportedly neglected campfire on Friday, July 8. Police quickly arrested both Jimmy Andrew Suggs, 28, and Zackary Ryan Kuykendall, 26, both of Vinemont, Ala.
While investigating, police say they traveled with Suggs and Kuykendall as the two reportedly volunteered to show officers where they set up their fires.
Officers also interviewed the suspects, who told police they built two fires to read their bibles over while camping overnight.
After speaking with both fire investigators and traveling with the suspects to areas where they had camped, one fire investigator said he was more than 90 percent certain the large scale wildfire sparked at the suspects’ second campsite.
MORE | Cold Springs Fire suspect Jimmy Suggs: 'We'd never seen anything like it'
MORE | Read arrest report for Suggs and Kuykendall
In the police report, officers say they asked Suggs and Kuykendall how they attempted to extinguish their campfires, to which they answered they didn’t put dirt on the fire – only rocks.
Officers say Suggs and Kuykendall spoke about doing more than covering the fire with rocks to extinguish it, but ultimately did nothing.
The fire has since destroyed five homes as hundreds of firefighters attempt to contain the blaze.
Suggs and Kuykendall face felony charges of arson. A third person they camped with has not yet been charged.