Arson eyed in three Four Oaks house fires

Authorities are eyeing arson in the investigation of fires at three vacant houses near Four Oaks since April.

The most recent fire on Monday destroyed a house at 4420 Devils Racetrack Road and damaged a nearby barn, said Tammy Amaons, with the Johnston County Sheriff's Office. Damage was estimated at more than $22,000.

Amaons said that two similar fires have occurred at unoccupied houses in the area in the past 60 days. Recent house fires on Green Pasture and Guin roads, however, are not connected, she said.

The sheriff's office has assigned a detective to the case.

The Four Oaks area saw rashes of suspicious fires in March 2007 and April and July 2004. Amaons could not say if those might be linked to the recent fires.