'Deliberate' Forest Fires Leave Downtown Caracas without Power

Forest fires on a mountain overlooking Caracas knocked out power to downtown areas of the city Tuesday and officials said they suspected the blazes were set deliberately.

A fire broke out Monday afternoon that affected electric power lines, followed by a second fire that ignited during the night leaving part of the center of the city in the dark, they said.

"The way in which this happened makes us suppose that it was provoked," said Jesse Chacon, the minister in charge of Venezuela's electric power grid.

William Martinez, commanding general of firefighters in the Caracas municipality of Libertador, said the fires were "almost entirely extinguished" and agreed that they may have been intentional.

"We are convinced that a human factor was present," he said.