Arson or ‘Recklessly Set’? : Investigators Sift Through Bits, Pieces of Data

San Diego arson investigators were tracking sketchy leads Tuesday in the Normal Heights blaze that on Sunday destroyed or heavily damaged 102 homes and 18 vehicles, causing at least $8.5 million in damage.

As residents and officials continued to survey the disaster scene and plan a cleanup operation, Capt. John Hale of the Metro Arson Strike Team said investigators had received calls from about 30 people who believed they had information that may lead to the arrest of the person or persons who set the fire.

“We’re getting a lot of response . . . a lot of information,” Hale said. “But nobody’s said they’ve seen anybody actually start the fire.”

Hale said the investigators are compiling bits of information from witnesses, such as descriptions of particular cars at the time and place of the fire’s origin--about 11:50 a.m. on the south side of Camino del Rio South, just east of the I-805 overpass.

Once it was set, the fire, primed by the record-breaking heat wave, swiftly climbed the brush-covered hillside and wreaked havoc on Normal Heights.

Hale said investigators are hoping to pull enough information together to identify suspects, Hale said. Authorities have asked that people who have information call investigators at 236-6815.

According to an updated accounting of the destruction released Tuesday by city officials, 64 houses, 18 outbuildings and 18 vehicles were destroyed, and 20 houses were severely damaged but considered salvageable. The estimated loss of those items was nearly $8.6 million. As yet, there has been no estimate on the furniture, clothing and other personal items destroyed.

Roger Phillips, chief of the San Diego Fire Department, said Monday that evidence recovered at the point of the fire’s origin indicated that the blaze was deliberately ignited.

Authorities have declined to detail the nature of the evidence, saying such disclosures could hamper the investigation.

But Hale on Tuesday backed away from the assertion that the fire was deliberately set, saying only that the cause was “incendiary,” meaning it was “set by human hands.” Whether the fire was caused by arson or set recklessly, the offense is a felony, authorities said.

Possibilities that the fire was an accident or was caused by a smoldering cigarette were ruled out by investigators. It is extremely unlikely, arson investigators say, for a brush fire to be started by a lit cigarette when the humidity is above 22%. But San Diego’s humidity Sunday was very close to that limit. According to the National Weather Service, it was 28% at 11 a.m. and at 2 p.m. it was 25%. The fire started just before noon.

Meanwhile, Capt. Tom Hall of the San Diego police said a rotating patrol of 25 officers would continue to provide 24-hour security in the burned area to guard against looting.

Hall said there have been few problems in the area. Three people have been arrested on suspicion of entering an unauthorized area after officers had asked them to leave, he said.

A state of emergency in the fire area has been declared by city, county and state officials. Local political leaders have urged Gov. George Deukmejian to ask President Reagan to declare Normal Heights a disaster area so it can qualify for federal aid.

The California Conservation Corps is expected to provide scores of workers to help clean up the blackened remnants of the homes, cars and other property.

Under the emergency declaration by county officials, property tax relief is available for Normal Heights residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed, County Assessor Gregory Smith said. Any property with damage of more than $5,000 qualifies for this relief.

Smith said owners who rebuild their homes can keep their Proposition 13 base value even though the cost of the new construction would exceed that amount. In addition, there will be an immediate reassessment of the property to reflect its condition.

For example, if the home is destroyed, all structural or improvement values on the property will be removed, leaving only the assessed value of the raw land.

Claim forms for relief are available from the assessor’s office and must be filed within 60 days after the damage occurred, Smith said.