Gilroy police said on Friday that they are looking for person of interests in connection to eight arson cases in the area.
Police released photos showing a person of interest Thursday and on Friday, they released new photos of another man they want to talk to.
Authorities believe the fires were intentionally set at different spots around Gilroy. This includes businesses and in waterways. One of the fires was allegedly set at the Lily Gardens Apartments.
“It’s scary because we have this field over here,” said Mary Avila of Gilroy.
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Avila told NBC Bay Area Friday that her children saw a man that looked suspicious and called her A few minutes later, the fence was on fire.
“We came home and we'd seen the smoke and my son noticed there was a fire,” she said. “So, he came and broke the glass and grabbed the extinguisher and my son went and put the fire out.”
One video shows a person of interest carrying multiple backpacks on a bike, leaving the scene.
Another fire was set at the Sobrato Apartments a half mile away. Both were small and didn’t cause much damage.
“Luckily, we got here in time or else that would have went up, the shed,” Avila said.
Gilroy police believe the fires were caused by different people. But they don’t know if they’re working together or acting separately.
NBC Bay Area spoke with a woman who saw a man in her Ring camera as he entered her backyard. Fortunately, there was no fire.
The Gilroy resident, who didn’t want to show her face, said that she is afraid he might come back.
“If he had the nerve to walk into someone's property, he could have done something else much worse, so now I’m going to put up more cameras,” she said.
There were no injuries as a result of any of the fires.
Anyone with information may contact Gilroy Police Det. Catalina Fraide at (408) 846-0335.
Bay City News contributed to the report.
