INDIAN HEAD, Md. (AP) – The lawn outside 5751 Cabinwood Court was deep green, even for December, and freshly trimmed. Two weeping cherry tree saplings silently stood guard, and the black mail box near the street awaited its first delivery.

But the scene of suburban tranquility ended at the front yard.

The house was a little more than a shell, hollowed out by flames. Reminders of the fire were at every turn – the garage door bent and blistered by the heat, the bay window nothing more than a blackened hole, the charred remains of a staircase.

No. 5751 was one of 26 homes destroyed Monday by arsonists in an upscale Charles County development. Most of the houses were under construction, but some, including No. 5751, were nearly ready for families to move in.

“It’s nuts,” said Capt. Joe Montminy of the Charles County Sheriff’s department, who worked all week on the investigation. “It looks like a movie set. It’s amazing how much damage was done.”

Authorities, including investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s office, the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, say they don’t know who set the fires – or why. All motives are under consideration, including racism or environmental terrorism.

Police blocked off the neighborhood Friday morning as a few anxious home owners gathered. Utility workers and contractors trickled back to the scene.

The smell of burned wood lingered, even after rain that fell over the past four days. Latex gloves used by investigators lay discarded in the red mud. Bright orange numbers were spray painted on each house for identification.

Across from the partially damaged building at 5751 Cabinwood, a few piles of bricks were heaped against a scorched foundation – all that was left of another home. Twisted metal was in a heap off to one side.

Farther down the block, the fire that burned the home on lot 37 to its concrete base whipped up an inferno at the intersection of Cabinwood and Deer Point Court.

The intense heat peeled vinyl siding on a house 50 feet across the street, leaving it fluttering like feathers.

On the other corner, Derrick Potts’ house stood virtually untouched. Potts, his girlfriend and three children were the only people living on the block when the fires broke out. They escaped unharmed as the flames grew.

Potts and Terri Rookard had moved into their home only four days before the fires, and Friday they returned for the first time to see if their house was damaged.

“Everything was fine, everything was intact. Not one scratch,” said Potts, a District of Columbia police officer. “I was so relieved.”

Environmental groups had tried to block the Hunters Brooke development, saying it would damage an ecologically sensitive magnolia bog nearby. And many of the residents who planned to move in were black, causing speculation it was a hate crime. However, no group or individual has claimed responsibility.

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