Police probe possible arson link in pair of car fires

Two vehicles in north San Francisco were set on fire within 30-minute span Sunday, authorities said.

Police are investigating whether the blazes are connected. In an annual city crime report released last week, police noted that arson reports increased by 18 percent from 2016 to 2017.

The first fire Sunday occurred about 11:10 p.m. near the intersection of Steiner and Filbert streets in Cow Hollow, said Officer Robert Rueca, a Police Department spokesman.

An unknown male fled on foot after allegedly starting the fire, which burned a 26-yearold man’s vehicle.

Nearly a half-hour later, the vehicle of a 50-year-old woman was set ablaze, again allegedly by a man who then fled, on the 300 block of Pierce Street, about a quarter mile from Alamo Square Park, said Rueca.

“With every crime that we have that might have any kind of ... common thread, we look at that,” Rueca said. “Our police investigators and fire investigators collaborate to investigate these types of crimes.”

There was no immediate information on the amount of damage to the vehicles. The car owners’ names were not released.

So far, there are no suspect descriptions and no arrests have been made.

“We are still canvassing the area for surveillance, as well as for eyewitnesses,” Rueca said.