At least 20 fires were set in an early morning arson spree in City Heights on Monday, and a woman has been arrested in connection with one of the blazes, police said.
Police began getting reports of fires around 2:50 a.m. within about a 1-mile radius in City Heights involving trash cans, dumpsters and vehicles, said San Diego police Sgt. Rick Pechin, who is on the city’s Metro Arson Strike Team, or MAST. He said fires continued through 4 a.m. and were reported in at least 10 locations.
The first report involved an open-bed trailer on 45th Street near Polk Avenue. After that, police and fire crews responded to call after call of fires nearby, said police Officer Sarah Foster.
In all, three vehicles and one trailer were damaged. Two houses suffered minor damage, Pechin said.
A damage estimate from the spree has not yet been tallied. The cars all sustained “moderate burn damage” but were not totaled, Pechin said.
Investigators are still trying to determine how many fires were set, and so far have verified at least 20 fires at 10 separate scenes, he said.
A 40-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of setting one of the fires, arrested after patrol officers were flagged down near Fairmount Avenue and Redwood Street. The woman was found on Redwood Street near 44th Street standing near an active rubbish fire, Pechin said.
Police are trying to determine if she is responsible for other fires.
She was booked into Las Colinas jail on suspicion of causing fire to property, jail records show.
“We see several sprees like this each year, and the majority of time they are confined to trash cans and dumpsters,” Pechin said. “However, there is still significant danger in these types of fires because, as was the case today, many of the trash containers are placed against the side of a building or house and can still cause significant property damage.”
Pechin said it is not known why a person will go on a spree setting fires. Mental illness or drug or alcohol use could be factors, he said, while sometimes something specific will set off a person.
Anyone with any information about the fires is asked to call MAST at (619) 236-6815.
