Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Fire officials say arsonists set two car fires last night in Magna and West Valley City. Investigators say they think they may be connected but have no suspects.
The first one was started around 4:00 this morning in West Valley City. Someone poured accelerant on a Thunderbird parked under a carport and lit it on fire. Most of the damage is to the trunk, but there's a lot of shattered glass on the ground.
With flames coming up from the car, firefighters say the car owner is lucky it didn't get to the carport then spread to the house. Luckily someone called 911, before it spread.
Asst. Chief Kris Romign with the West Valley Fire Department, said, "We had a couple that was walking. They were on their normal walk. I guess they walk at that time every morning."
The car owner told investigators she didn't have problems with anybody.
"The occupancy has changed in the last two weeks, so it could be a situation where the wrong person was targeted," Romign said.
In Magna, firefighters were working on the same type of crime. Gasoline was poured on the top of a car parked in a driveway there too. But this time a witness saw someone leaving.
Capt. Wade Russell with Unified Fire Authority, said, "The witness reported seeing a suspect fleeing the area right after the fire had started. However, that witness has not been able to give us a good description or vehicle description at this time."
The homeowner there doesn't know why he'd be targeted either.
Russell said, "Information we have obtained says that there has been some past gang activity in that area."
The Magna victim is not a known gang member. West Valley Fire is working with their gang unit to see if there's any history in that area.
Investigators in both cases are leaning towards a connection. "Due to the fact of the proximity of the fires, the times of the fires as well as the locations leads us to believe they may be related," Wade said.
The car in West Valley sustained $2,000 worth of damage. The other had $500.
If you have any information that could help, please call West Valley or Unified Fire.
E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com
