Extraordinary Incident in Ararat Region: Nearly 500 Fruit Trees Caught Fire

More than an hour has passed since the head of the Ararat regional police department, Kamo Tsutsulyan, and the head of the Ararat police station, Vahagn Grigoryan, arrived at the territory of the village of Armash in the Ararat region. They are investigating several fruit orchards belonging to local residents of the village. Several villagers reported to the Armash village administration that a fire broke out in their orchards of apricot, apple, grape, and other fruit trees under suspicious circumstances a day earlier.

Upon learning about the fire in the orchards, the villagers rushed to the site and initially prevented the spread of the flames with their own efforts before extinguishing it. According to photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan from the scene, the villagers expressed their distress, saying: “We have created these orchards with our hard-earned sweat for our families. For 15-20 years, we have taken care of them 24/7. Unfortunately, about 500 trees have burned to the ground. Probably 80 percent will not bear fruit this season. We have no enemies or detractors. We cannot say who intentionally or carelessly set our hard work on fire.”

The Ararat police department’s investigative division is preparing materials on the incident. It is being determined who the affected citizens are and the extent of their losses.