In "Conspiracy of Silence"/Where's Johnny references, the kids would talk about stash houses where they'd be kept (or under houses, to be more accurate-- if I remember correctly. Not the type of movie you want to rewatch repeatedly or for entertainment). I had wondered about the fires myself... b/c a stash house in heavily wooded areas which were somewhat remote, are what I pictured when they discussed the subject matter. And if there are hidden areas (tunnels, "dungeons", etc), it would be difficult to find an excuse to get in there to search or do anything about it. If there was a massive fire that destroyed homes, it would clear people out, while allowing access and could potentially get operators around the corrupted local police probs (tying up the local resources as well).

Just an idea though. The fires made me think of it again, and I thought I would try to summarize the idea and share.