Feds Analyze Rash of Arson Fires in California City

Novato officials have enlisted the help of federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents in an effort to crack the case of a firebug who set at least 56 small fires the weekend of Jan. 7.

Material collected at the arson sites is being examined by federal agents in the ATF's Walnut Creek lab, and other evidence is under examination in Washington D.C., fire and police authorities said.

Although no suspect has been identified yet, "there's a lot of evidence that's been collected and must be analyzed," said Eric Nickel, deputy chief in the Novato Fire District. "When you have 56 fires, there's going to be evidence."

No one was hurt in the spate of mostly small, spot fires that broke out in the middle of the night, most of them in brush at intersections in neighborhoods near the South Novato Boulevard exit on Highway 101, and several miles away in the open space next to the Bahia neighborhood of northeast Novato. A half-acre burned there, a quarter-mile or more from the nearest road.

The fires were reported over a two-day period that stretched from just after 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, to early Monday morning. An Ignacio trash can fire that erupted mysteriously that Monday night remains suspicious, but is not conclusively linked to the arson spree.

A $15,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the fires, with $5,000 each coming from the police department and Novato Fire

District. The Novato Sanitary District and Novato Disposal chipped in $2,500 each.

The fires are linked by time, location, lack of obvious ignition sources and the material burned, most of which was brush, leaves and grassland.

Although damage was minimal, dozens of investigators from Novato's police and fire agencies, as well as a host of county, state and federal agents, have been involved in the investigation. Nickel declined to talk about evidence collected or elaborate on analysis efforts of federal ATF investigators, other than to say nothing yet indicates whether the incidents are the work of a juvenile or an adult.

Firehouse staff and overtime alone cost about $30,000 the first week, and the tab is growing, Nickel said. Police rang up a tab of roughly $15,000 in the days after the fires, according to Lt. Keith Heiden.

Authorities boosted patrols, and remain ready to pounce at first word of a similar fire outbreak. None has occurred since the January incident.

Nickel noted the fires could have been deadly or caused serious damage, and said officials hope that "now that things have settled down" someone may come forward with information that can break the case. Novato police can be reached at 897-1122 or via the department's "hot tip" line at 1-800-848-0101.

Copyright 2012 - The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service