CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Arsonist Sought in String of Fires

A lone arsonist may be to blame for a string of 20 fires in one section of the city in the last two months, San Francisco fire officials said. Eight of the blazes were set over the last weekend, six of them in two hours Sunday morning, Fire Chief Fred Postel said. Since April 9, the fires have been set in an area northwest of the city’s center. All were set late at night or in the early morning in places accessible from the street. Damage has been minor so far, with two firefighters and one resident suffering minor injuries.