Three vehicle fires were ignited between Saturday night and Sunday in the same El-Sobrante Richmond area where six fires torched 11 vehicles last week.

The first fire broke out at 10:50 p.m. Saturday in front of a house on the 5500 block of Oak Knoll Road in El Sobrante in unincorporated Contra Costa County, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Hours later, at 2:30 a.m., the first of two vehicle fires 11 minutes apart in Richmond was reported, said Richmond police Lt. Manjit Sappal.

The fires occurred in the area of Mitey Mite and Heavenly Ridge lanes. Someone with a black, hooded sweat shirt was seen running away from one of the fires.

Sappal said there is not enough evidence to say the fires are connected to the six fires Wednesday morning along San Pablo Dam Road, but due to the suspicious nature of the fires and their location they could be linked.

Last week's series of blazes occurred between 2:45 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. in Richmond and in unincorporated communities. It began with a blaze in the carport of an apartment complex at 3535 El Portal Road that burned four vehicles.

About 3:30 a.m. a fire burned two vehicles in the 4100 block of San Pablo Dam Road. At 4:20 a.m. one vehicle was burned in the 4400 block of San Pablo Dam Road, while another vehicle burned about 4:45 a.m. on the 2400 block of May Road.

A fire at 5:04 a.m. in the 2900 block of De Anza Road burned two vehicles, while another vehicle burned at

5:38 a.m. in the 3400 block of Morningside Drive. Police collected a vague description of a person walking away from the last fire in that series. He is described as in his late teens, either a white or Hispanic, about 6 feet tall, 170 pounds and wearing a black, hooded jacket.

Reach Eric Louie at 925-847-2123.