Arsonist strikes three times in Santa Rosa

A busy arsonist set three fires along a block of a Santa Rosa residential neighborhood early Tuesday, lodging firewood and Presto logs between fence pickets and setting them ablaze.

The fires did little damage but kept firefighters and police officers busy before dawn.

The first fire was in the 1600 block of Humboldt Street at Dexter Street and was reported at 1:43 a.m.

Firefighters found the wood and logs shoved in between pickets of a white picket fence.

At about 4:10 a.m. they were called to another white picket fence nearby on Dexter Street and while there, another call came in about a similar fire also on Dexter about a block away.

“The fires are identical,” Santa Rosa Battalion Chief Mark Basque reported.

“Minimal damage was caused to each fence. Property owners will need to replace a handful of pickets,” Basque said in a report.

Police officers saturated the section of the Santa Rosa Junior College neighborhood with several officers but no suspect was found, Basque said.