INDIAN HEAD, Md. (AP) -- Investigators have not ruled out ecoterrorism - or any other motive - as the cause of the arson that destroyed a dozen homes at a newly-constructed upscale development that had been opposed by environmentalists, a fire official said Tuesday.
``We have not been able to establish at this point any motive,'' said Faron Taylor, a deputy state fire marshal.
FBI spokesman Barry Maddox said the agency was not aware of any claims of credit by any group for the fires. Maddox also said he was not aware of any recent activity in the Washington area by radical environmental groups such as the Earth Liberation Front.
``We are very well aware of ELF and other groups,'' Maddox said.
ATF spokesman Mike Campbell said investigators are not looking into a link with the serial arsonist believed responsible for 45 fires in the Washington region since March 2003. Arson Task Force investigators said a fire in a stairwell of an apartment building in Prince George's County likely was the work of the unknown arsonist responsible for fires in suburban Maryland, the District of Columbia and northern Virginia.
Investigators have concluded that seven of the fires Monday were intentionally set, Taylor said.
About 100 investigators from numerous local, state and federal agencies, including the FBI and ATF, are investigating the blazes, which also damaged 14 homes. Fire officials had originally reported 29 homes were damaged, but lowered that figure on Tuesday.
Chemists and engineers are also among the investigators, who are interviewing a wide variety of people, including the construction crews, Taylor said.
Campbell said this is ``one of the largest scenes our guys have done.''
While evidence has not been found to show the fires were related to environmental opposition to the development, residents admit the subject has been a hot topic.
Charles County has experienced rapid growth in recent years as the Washington suburbs spread outward from the city, causing disputes over where and how to build in the formerly rural county.
Eating lunch in a bar near the development, Morgan O'Connor and his wife, Kay, said they moved away from New Carrollton in Prince George's County in 1979 to get away from traffic and suburban congestion.
They said they were disturbed by the fire, but wouldn't be disappointed if it slowed down growth.
``I hope it slows down completely, it's too fast, there's too many homes in too many places,'' Morgan O'Connor said.
The Sierra Club has called the development ``quintessential sprawl'' in its Fall 2000 sprawl report, noting it is far from existing infrastructure and ``threatens a fragile wetland and important historical sites near the Chesapeake Bay.''
The homes, in a development next to an environmental preserve, were priced between $400,000 and $500,000. Built on lots about a quarter acre each, the homes that burned were spread over a 10-acre area, Taylor said.
The fire was not far from Araby Bog, an area some have been trying to preserve. The Sierra Club has said the development would severely degrade the state's largest magnolia bogs.
Environmental groups and some county residents sued the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers last year, claiming they had violated the Clean Water Act by granting permits that allowed construction at the site.
On July 23 of this year, U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte denied a request for an injunction against construction of the development, but ordered the Army Corps to provide a ``more complete explanation'' of its decision authorizing the sewer line and road in the subdivision. That same day, the Army Corps filed an appeal of that decision.
Damage was scattered throughout the closely-built development. In some cases, homes that were burned nearly to the ground sat next to structures suffering only minimal damage. Some lots were empty, others were just foundations waiting for construction.
Jacque and Dawn Hightower, whose home suffered only minor damage, said fire investigators told them that many of the blazes started inside the houses. Taylor would not comment on the origin or methods used by the arsonists.
``We're left not knowing whether or not we can get into our house,'' Dawn Hightower said. ``It was not an act of God. There's got to be someone who's responsible for this.''
Related:
