Did A Mexican Somewhere Light A Cigarette?

On Sunday, John McCain stepped forthrightly into controversy again:

"There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally," McCain, R-Arizona, said Saturday at a press conference. "The answer to that part of the problem is to get a secure border."

The Arizona senator, however, did not say what the evidence is, prompting a swift rebuke from Latino civil rights advocates.

...Parraz called McCain's remarks "careless and reckless" but not entirely surprising given the political climate in Arizona. The Latino advocate is co-founder of Citizens for a Better Arizona, a group trying the recall the legislator who authored the state's controversial anti-illegal immigration law.

McCain's attack on illegal aliens owes no doubt to the fact that one specific fire, the Monument Fire, started near Ft. Huachuca, Sierra Vista, and the border. There is also the Horseshoe 2 Fire in the Chiricahua Mountains, not that far away (but not adjacent to the border). Coincidence, or illegals running amok?

It's important to note that illegal aliens do start fires, and in theory could be responsible for the Monument Fire, but it's also important to note that along that stretch of border, there are many more people present on the American side of the border than on the Mexican side. All things being equal, it is much more likely that an American was responsible for starting the fire.

Some perimeter maps: