What the Hell Does He Want?

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Police questioned Charlie Smith and Tanya Bundick separately. By the time police pulled them over more than 80 fires close to 90 had been set in a four month period. "It caught pretty much every one off guard," says Sheriff Todd Godwin.

On November 12th, 2012, the Accomack County volunteer fire departments got a call. An abandoned house had suddenly gone up in flames. And then, just hours later, a second fire was reported. Then a third. Over the next few months, there would be a lot more fires—nearly 90 in all. It was all anyone could talk about in Accomack. Someone was burning down the entire county.

Monica Hesse's book is American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land.

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