2 of 1,100 Alabama wildfires under investigation

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's fire marshal says state officers are investigating two of nearly 1,100 statewide wildfires as possible arson.

Fire Marshal Scott Pilgreen says a fire that burned 800 acres in DeKalb County is under investigation. So is a series of three blazes that burned 65 acres along Interstate 65 north of Birmingham last week.

No arrests have been made. But Pilgreen says officers also issued a few misdemeanor citations to people who allegedly violated a statewide no-burn order during the drought.

The Alabama Forestry Commission says about 1,100 wildfires have burned more than 12,500 acres in the last month.

The agency attributes most of those blazes to carelessness, like people tossing cigarette butts on the ground. But a spokeswoman says the cause of most of those wildfires is unknown.