Video: FBI links Street of Dreams fire to eco-terrorists

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SEATTLE - For the first time, the FBI says it believes eco-terrorists committed the crime and other fires may be linked to it.

It was the night that dreams were dashed.

On March 3, 2008, fires were set in five "Street of Dreams" showcase homes. Three were destroyed.

Environmental radicals were the early suspects in the fires at Quinn's Crossing, but now the FBI says further investigation shows that members of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) are the likely culprits.

Agent David Gomez oversees Seattle's domestic terrorism unit.

"Absent any information to the contrary, we're working on the premise that it was an eco-terrorism-related event," he said.

Since the smoke cleared, the FBI has been making progress on other fronts as well. We've learned that agents have now linked the fires to several other local arsons, also believed to be the work of eco-terrorists.

Investigators are analyzing similarities between a half-dozen fires at rural new construction homes, including a Camano Island mansion that was torched just before the owner's family moved in.

In both the Camano Island and Quinn's Crossing fires, the word "ELF" was scrawled on signs left at the scene.

The FBI won't elaborate on other evidence points to the loosely knit eco-terror organization.

The half-dozen fires have just been bundled into what the FBI calls a "major case" - a rare designation.

Headquarters is designating the Quinn's Crossing fire major case #258 with code name "green links."

The FBI says it will direct more law enforcement resources to a region where environmental terrorists are clearly very active.

Agents say they're also looking at other local crimes that may have been committed by eco-terrorists, such as thefts and vandalism.