San Jose: Fire, police investigators probe whether serial arsonist lit string of car fires

"Fire investigators and police detectives are probing whether some or all of two-dozen suspicious car fires reported since mid-December are the work of a serial arsonist, according to the San Jose Fire Department. No one has been injured in the string of blazes, which began Dec. 18 and resumed early Tuesday with a flurry of 11 overnight car fires. The fires cover a 5 square-mile footprint spanning the SAP Center downtown and Willow Glen, and extending east to Almaden Expressway."

"The first fires were reported Dec. 18 between 5:30 a.m and 6:30 a.m., involving three vehicles parked in separate locations in Willow Glen, and one vehicle near Race Street and Auzerais Avenue. More than a month would pass until the next cluster that surfaced last week. On Jan. 21, firefighters responded to seven vehicle fires in five different locations near West San Carlos Street and Highway 87,"

"In the early morning hours Tuesday, between midnight and 1:15 a.m., firefighters were called to single downtown car fires at North Autumn Street and West Juilan Street, Woz Way and Almaden Boulevard, and another single car fire back in the Alma area at Floyd Street and Lick Avenue. Then half a mile away, near where Almaden Road and Almaden Expressway meet, six vehicles were set on fire on the Almaden Road side and two fires caught fire on the expressway side."

Fire investigators and police detectives are probing whether some or all of two-dozen suspicious car fires reported since mid-December are the work of a serial arsonist. No one has been injured. The blazes began Dec. 18 and resumed early Tuesday with 11 overnight car fires. The fires cover a five-square-mile footprint from the SAP Center downtown through Willow Glen to Almaden Expressway. Investigators are determining whether incidents on different dates are connected and are asking the public to report information or security camera footage. Initial fires Dec. 18 involved four vehicles. Clusters on Jan. 21–22 and early Tuesday involved multiple vehicles across downtown, Alma, and Almaden areas. The investigation is ongoing.

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