Police investigate Medford arson

By Whitney Clark/KTVL.comMEDFORD, Ore. -- Police are investigating a fire in an vacant Medford home as arson.Medford Police say it is the seventh fire in a vacant home this year. Lt. Mike Budreau says arson cases can be hard to crack because often the fire burns up evidence that may lead to a suspect.Often times there's very little evidence left behind, Budreau said. And then that evidence that is left behind is destroyed in the fire.The fire happened Wednesday night on the 1200 block of Prune Street in Medford. Officers say it was a bank owned home that no one was living in.Fire crews say when they arrived someone had set several fires in the garage, causing about $30,000 in damage. Last week there was a fire in a vacant homeoff Stewart in Medford. Budreau says the problems seems to be getting worse.We use to have one or two every couple of months, Budreau said. And now we're getting them pretty close.Budreau says the seven fires were spread mostly in southwest Medford. For now crews do not know if they are related. However, one thing they all have in common is the types of homes they were in.. All of these fires are vacant homes, said Fire Marshal Greg Klineberg. They seem to have started at different times during the day.Police say they have had reports of people going into the home on Prune, and Budreau says inside they found graffiti. Investigators are urging anyone who may have seen something suspicous to contact police.