Local News in Brief : 9 Fires Set in 2 Nights
Authorities are looking for an arsonist who set nine fires in two nights in an affluent residential area of Santa Monica.
Most of the fires were in trash bins or dumpsters, police and firefighters said Friday, but one was set in a carport underneath a 15-unit apartment building on 2nd Street near Montana Avenue.
The carport blaze ignited a truck whose gas tank exploded, shattering windows and cutting electricity and water to the tenants for three days.
No one was injured in any of the fires, police said.
“We think it’s the same person. We are not real clear on what the motive is,” Santa Monica Police Lt. Barney Melekian said. “I don’t really know why that particular area. It may be just convenient to him.”
Santa Monica fire officials said seven fires were reported Monday night and two Tuesday night. All were in a six-block area of wide, tree-lined streets near trendy Montana Avenue.
A damage estimate was not immediately available.
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