Every year, about three to five percent of Guam burns. 

But why is fire so prevalent on our tiny island? 

“The fire problem on Guam, all of our ignitions are human caused,” said Agriculture’s Forestry and Soil Resource Chief Christine Camacho Fejeran. 

“It could be drug related, it could be poaching activities, but really it comes down to the fact that we have an arson problem on the island,” she said. 

It’s a pattern of arson that Camacho Fejeran has noted. However, today’s fire is just a set up. 

“If you find evidence, notify law enforcement,” she said. 

Part of a national course taught by the USDA Forest Service is boots on the ground training for those tasked to investigate the blaze and arrest those responsible, like police officer Darrell Cabrera. 

“I’ve never investigated a forest fire as well as structural but this training gives me the fundamentals on basic fire investigation and how we determine the source of the fire,” said Cabrera. 

Participants from Forestry, Guam Fire, Guam Police and Joint Region Marianas interviewed actors roleplaying as witnesses and possibly arsonists. 

Today also marks National Love a Tree Day, reminding us that when our green spaces burn, the consequences are far reaching, from ridge to reef.

“Anything that happens upland has an immediate impact to what happens to the rivers, downstream, into our basin and fisheries,” said Camacho Fejeran. 

The impact also affects the community caught in the crossfire. 

The smoke hazards, and breathing challenges that some family members have, there are major concerns that we don’t talk enough about,” she said. “It’s not always about the fire itself, but everything else that comes because of that fire.”

It's why she said it’s not enough to tell residents not to burn,individuals need to be held accountable and this training will help these firefighters and officers do just that.