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MORGAN HILL – Police on Monday arrested a 29-year-old Morgan Hill man on suspicion of intentionally setting four fires along Monterey Road on Christmas night.
The man was booked into Santa Clara County jail on arson charges, according to the Morgan Hill Police Department.
The first fire was reported around 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 25 at the Safeway gas station at 100 Tennant Ave., police said. Officers arrived to find two garbage cans on fire. They hit the fuel pump emergency shut-off switch and extinguished the blaze.
As officers were investigating the fire, another garbage can fire was reported at the Chevron gas station at 15865 Monterey Road, according to police. A worker put out the blaze, preventing it from spreading to a nearby building or the fuel holding tanks.
The third fire was reported around 8 p.m. at the Community & Cultural Center at 17000 Monterey Road, police said. Morgan Hill firefighters extinguished the fire before it caused significant damage.
Around 9:40 p.m., the last fire was reported at the Crossings apartment complex at 16800 Monterey Road, according to police. The blaze burned itself out but caused minor damage to the structure.
Morgan Hill police detectives worked with fire investigators and determined each fire was intentionally set and that the four scenes were likely connected, police said.
The four fires “posed a clear and present danger to the safety of all Morgan Hill residents,” according to police.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and asked anyone with information related to the case to contact Detective Adrian Sapien at 669-253-4995 or adrian.sapien@morganhill.ca.gov.
Originally published at Jason Green