A huge forest fire is burning across two Eastern Kentucky counties and officials say it's the work of arsonists.

Officials say it didn't take long for the fire to grow out of control in the Pilgrim area of Martin County. The fire is now in parts of Pike County and crews are still working to contain the flames.

Crews say the fire is considered dangerous and spreading quickly. In just 24 hours it has spread into two counties. Crews say arsonists are to blame and now they're working around the clock to contain it.

Foresters say the started as five small fires, but it didn't take long for them to turn into one big one. They say it appears someone intentionally set them, and then the weather took it after that.

"That's the reason, the wind got so big, a lot of sets on it, a lot of them burned together, creating one big fire," said Forest Ranger Ricky Boggs.

The fire covers nearly two thousand acres in both Martin and Pike Counties. Crews say the flames are far enough away from homes so none are threatened, but say it is dangerous for anyone to be around and warn people to stay away.

"If the wind catches it just right, it may push it up on them before they can get away from it," Boggs said.

Foresters say the wind is also making it harder to contain.

"A lot of times we just have to stand back and wait. We're at the mercy of the wind, waiting for the wind to lay down so we can get in and do something with the fire," Boggs said.

Foresters say they have enough evidence to believe this is arson. They say there is nothing nearby that could have accidentally started the fire.

"There's no probably cause for it. There's no real good reason for anyone to be here other than recreational on a four-wheeler or out here drinking and partying," Boggs said.

Rangers say they found beer bottles near all five sets, but no suspects. Crews say they'll battle this until the flames are gone and the area is safe.

Rangers say they may never know who did this. They say the only way they can prove it is if they have a witness and right now they have none. If they do catch whoever did this, they will face felony charges.

Forestry officials say if you see anyone setting a fire, you can report them by calling the Arson Hotline at 1-800-27-ARSON.