Street of Dreams arson echoes attack in '06

SNOHOMISH COUNTY — Federal arson investigators say that a banner left behind at the Street of Dreams arsons near Maltby on Monday has some resemblance to one left at a 2006 Camano Island house arson under investigation as a possible Earth Liberation Front attack.

Both the Monday arsons and the 2006 arson also appear to have been touched off without the aid of incendiary devices, and investigators will examine the banner found here for potential DNA samples, fibers or other clues that might link it to the banner in the 2006 fire.

"I think what we are looking for are similarities in terms of forensics," said David Gomez, an FBI assistant special agent in charge in Seattle at a news conference just outside the yellow tape of the crime scene Tuesday.

The banner carried the words, "Built Green? Nope black!" and "McMansions in RCDs r not green," which was a reference to rural cluster development.

Three multimillion-dollar homes on a cul-de-sac in the Maltby area were destroyed in the arsons and attempts were made to burn two other homes. Damage is estimated at $7 million.

Federal officials said there are still many unknowns about these fires, and it is far too soon to pin the fires on the ELF, a militant environmental underground with cells that during the past decade have repeatedly claimed credit for arsons against new housing developments, as well as other targets.

"Obviously, all avenues are open and we will have to look at everything that is there to make sure that we're headed down the right road," said Kelvin Crenshaw, special agent in charge in Seattle of The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

A Labrador retriever trained to sniff out accelerants aided investigators on Tuesday.

On Monday, The Associated Press reported that a local fire official said incendiary devices had been removed from some of the homes. But federal officials said Tuesday that there is no evidence of any kind of incendiary devices.

"There were no devices found; I want to make that clear," Crenshaw said.

Such devices — with timers, fuses and fuel mixes — were used in ELF arsons that burned timber-company offices, slaughterhouses and other targets in a series of ELF arsons that ended in 2001.

Federal officials said Monday's fires might have been set with "available combustibles" — something as simple as wood, paper and matches — but did not rule out that gasoline or other fuels might have been involved.

To touch off such fires, the arsonist would most likely have had to be on-scene as the blazes were kindled, as opposed to using timing devices that would allow him or her to leave before the fires started.

The shift away from destructive incendiary devices could be an effort by those involved to avoid the stiff legal consequences that can result from using more sophisticated methods, according to Gomez.

Arsonists who use a destructive device may be charged with a count that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.

Federal investigators did find the remains of incendiary devices at a 2001 arson that burned the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture, which was rebuilt at a cost of about $7 million. They eventually accused five people of carrying out the attack, including Briana Waters, 32, a former Olympia resident who is on trial on charges that include arson and use of a destructive device. If convicted on all charges, Waters faces a mandatory sentence of 35 years.

The Waters jury has been deliberating since Friday and, as of Tuesday, had yet to come to a verdict. Defense attorneys on Monday and again on Tuesday made motions for a mistrial. They cited the possibility that the jurors might have been unduly influenced by hearing or reading news of the Street of Dreams arsons, but Judge Franklin Burgess ruled against their motions.

Each house was the target of a separate arson attempt, making it likely — but not certain — that the fires were started by a team of arsonists, investigators said.

"It could have been five people, it could have been 10 people. It could have been one person," said the ATF's Crenshaw "We really don't know."

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com