Possible serial arsonist targeting palm trees in San Jose

SAN JOSE (KGO) -- A possible serial arsonist may be targeting palm trees in the South Bay after a string of fires in the past few weeks.

The rash of small fires has plagued the Highway 101 corridor in San Jose. Several suspicious fires broke out in the early morning hours along Highway 101 near Story Road over the weekend. In one fire, flames spread to a nearby Caltrans storage container.

The latest fire happened Tuesday morning. "This is becoming a chronic fire in this same location. We had over a couple dozen of these calls in the past few weeks at the same location," San Jose Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Bacon told ABC7 News.

At nearby Emma Prusch Park, people said they have seen a homeless man chop down trees, and yelling that trees are evil.

The California Highway Patrol and San Jose fire department are investigating the fires.