Second potential arson incident in San Jose in as many days

Cars set ablaze in San Jose, fire department investigating

San Jose Fire Department investigators are looking into a possible second case of arson in as many days. New video shows the latest arson incident from overnight where two cars were engulfed in flames in an industrial area just south of downtown.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose fire investigators are looking into what is possibly a second case of arson in as many days. All the recent suspicious fires have involved vehicles being lit on the fire in the middle of the night.

Arson investigation

What we know:

It was 12:15 a.m. on Thursday morning when the San Jose Fire Department was called to the latest scene – two vehicles were fully involved when crews arrived. It happened on East San Avenue, just east of Highway 87, which is mostly an industrial area including auto repair shops.

It took crews only about an hour to extinguish the fire and clear the scene, but arson investigators were later called.

Fire officials say it is still too early to conclusively link Thursday’s incident to a series of similar car fires early Wednesday morning.

"So we know these were incendiary events, which means they were set on purpose. Right now we are doing the investigation for origin and cause," said Deputy Chief James Dobson with the San Jose Fire Department.

Similar incidents of cars on fire

Dig deeper:

Dobson was specifically referring to a series of fires reported between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. In all, there were seven separate cars burned at five different locations all within about a half a mile surrounding the downtown area. In security videos from one local business, you can see a person lighting several vehicles on fire and then apparently riding away on a bicycle.

Deputy Chief Dobson said: "No idea why. We do have one person of interest who we have not been able to identify yet, but we are working with PD so we can identify that individual," Dobson said.

There was a similar incident in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood on December 18, 2025, where several cars burned which also remains unsolved. The San Jose Fire Department says the investigation into all of these incidents is ongoing. "Because of the time frame there are not a lot of witnesses but we are trying to gather as much information as we can using video evidence and working with PD," Deputy Chief Dobson said.

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