50 animals die in possible arson

TUCUMCARI, N.M. (KRQE) - The city of Tucumcari is on edge after the third in a string of possible arsons torched an animal hospital killing 50 pets inside.

Investigators are now asking the public for help.

This string of suspicious fires started April 17 across the parking lot from the downtown fire station at a state Probation and Parole office.

Investigators determined the cause to be arson.

About three weeks later and just a couple of blocks away the long-vacant Sands-Dorsey building burned. So far that fire is only being called suspicious.

"We've had a lot of businesses affected by this, so that's what's the big concern," Chief Mike Cherry of the Tucumcari Fire & Rescue said.

Residents already were driving by burned-out buildings in the heart of their city, but it's the most recent fire that has people really upset.

A little before 4 a.m. Monday fire raged in the Tucumcari Animal Hospital with smoke and fire killing about 50 dogs, cats and birds.

"Right now this fire at the animal hospital is suspicious, and we're treating it as such," New Mexico State Police Lt. Lance Bateman said

For now State Police aren't officially connecting the three fires as the work of one firebug although they are seeing some patterns.

"It was the same general area, and the time frame and days of the week," Bateman said. "There's different circumstances to where they could match up."

Two of the fires have been set early on Monday mornings; the abandoned building was torched early on a Tuesday morning.

Now investigators are in a race to catch whoever's starting these fires.

"Next time we're worried it could cause a human death," Bateman said. "So we're taking this very seriously, and we're doing proactive approaches to try and solve this."

Cherry told KRQE News 13 there have been two additional suspicious fires since the start of April. Investigators, however, said those do not appear to be linked.

Police are not saying anything about how the fires have been set.