Several Early-Morning Arson Fires Set Within 3 Hours In Redlands

REDLANDS (CBSLA.com) — At least a half dozen arson fires that were set early Wednesday morning are being investigated in a localized area of Redlands.

Fire investigators say between 1:56 and 6:51 a.m. Wednesday, six intentionally set fires were reported in an half-square-mile area bordered by Colton and Logonia avenues and Church and Orange streets.

The first fire was reported at 1:56 a.m. in an alley in the 1200 block of Tribune Street, burning vegetation, a fence, trash and some furniture that had been stored outside, authorities said.

Three more fires were reported within nearly 10 minutes – at 2:34 a.m., 2:39 a.m. and 2:45 a.m. Two of the fires were in front of garages in alleys, damaging the buildings and surrounding items on Alta and Church streets. Another fire, inside a vehicle, was discovered on Lombard Street by firefighters responding to the blaze on Church Street.

A fifth fire reported at 6:51 a.m. in an alley in the 800 block of Post Street burned vegetation and debris near an outbuilding. A sixth fire, which burned a car, was reported at 7:45 a.m. in an alley in the 1000 block of Tribune Street. Both of these fires had been set earlier but were not discovered until after sunrise.

"It's easy to tears and easy to anger, so I'm just not going to be a part of that number," car owner and victim Frank Wilson said. "That's what they're trying to do, whoever did this."

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported, and property and contents loss estimates were not available Wednesday, fire officials said.

Investigators say they believe the fires were all set between the hours of 1 and 3 a.m. Anyone with information about any of the fires can contact the Redlands Fire Department Investigation Unit at (909) 798-7600.