A total of 25 fires have been attributed as being of suspicious origin during this period with over 3,500 acres of pasture, crop and livestock falling victim to the arsonist.

The latest incident, which occurred on Sunday, was again located in the Gundagai Road area and is believed to have been deliberately set at approximately 3.20pm, less than three days after a small section of grass was set alight, on the same road one kilometre south of the Brawlin Road intersection.

Strike Force Henderson, which was established by police last year to investigate the series of suspicious fires is relying on public assistance which they hope will lead to the arrest of the fire bug.

RFS Superintendent Trevor Reeves told the Herald he is sure there is someone in the community who may have seen something suspicious around the time these fires occurred or who may have their suspicions regarding the identity of the culprit.

A common denominator of the fires under investigation by Strike Force Henderson is that they have all been roadside ignited and are believed to have been lit with a cigarette lighter or match.

Supt Reeves said the firebug has been at it for eight months now and if not caught soon, posed a danger for the 2010/11 fire season.

“We must act now on catching this nuisance before another disaster similar in size or worse than the Wallendbeen fire occurs,” Supt Reeves said.

“If it is a bad day with high wind speeds and high temperatures and the fire bug continues, this could be disastrous with catastrophic consequences,” Supt Reeves said.

While the fires have occurred at varying times of the day, the activity seems to have been centred around the back roads of the Cootamundra region.

In recent times, the fires have become more frequent with less and less time elapsing between incidents.

Investigators are looking into five suspicious fires in the last three weeks.

Supt Reeves is calling for local residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity especially along local roadsides.

“The police and Rural Fire Service can’t be everywhere at once, we are relying on public assistance to catch this person,” Superintendent Reeves said.

Cootamundra Police can be contacted on 6942 0099 or Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.