Police: Wannabe Weatherman Accused of Setting Fire to get Facebook Views

LETCHER CO., Ky. (WTVQ/AP) Police say a man arrested for arson in eastern Kentucky confessed to setting a fire to draw attention to his Facebook page.

Jenkins Police Chief James Stephens said Johnny Mullins, 21, is facing a charge of second-degree arson for the blaze in Letcher County. He said Mullins would post selfie videos on Facebook from the scene of various wildfires, delivering what he called a “Weather Outlook” segment for his viewers.

In his last video, posted on Nov. 6, Mullins warned people in eastern Kentucky to “be extremely careful if you’re out there,” and got 2,900 views. That video has now gone viral with more than 6,000 views.

There are more than 2,300 acres burning in Southern and Eastern Kentucky according to the state. 72 counties in Kentucky are under burn bans with Crittenden and Todd counties just added Monday.

The chief told The Associated Press on Friday that Mullins told him he started the fire he was charged with earlier this week “because he enjoyed the attention he got from the Facebook stuff.”

The “Weather Outlook” posts appear to go back more than a year. In some of the videos, Mullins appears to be doing weather updates for WKVG, a Jenkin’s radio station. ABC 36 tried reaching out to WKVG but got no response.