4 Vehicles Set On Fire in San Francisco, Arson Suspected

San Francisco police are on the hunt for an arsonist who set four vehicles on fire near Dolores Park Wednesday morning.

It’s the second time in under a month that cars have caught fire in the area. Eight vehicles in less than a month have been set on fire, according to police. This time, someone intentionally set a Mercedes SUV, two Jeeps and a pickup truck on fire, all within about a 10 block radius.

Authorities say the fires broke out within a short amount of time. The 911 calls came in between about 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.

The fires are being investigated as arson, authorities said.

Eric Hartwig’s 2007 Jeep parked at Cumberland and Church was the first vehicle set on fire, police said. He had a simple message for the person who started the blaze: “Please stop!”

Officers responded to a second call about a truck on fire at 17th and Church Street at about 4:45 a.m. About 20 minutes, later another vehicle was reported on fire at Liberty and Rayburn. An hour later, police got one more call about another fire on Rayburn.

Police and fire investigators are interviewing residents to see if they heard or saw anything. They’ll also be checking to see if a surveillance camera might have caught the apparent fire bug.

Back in November, someone set a van and three other vehicles on fire in the same general area of the Mission.

No arrests have been made in either case.

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