The Long Beach Fire Department said it’s investigating a blaze in Belmont Shore last week that’s suspected to have started when someone ignited Christmas trees in an alley and caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

Video shared with the Long Beach Post appears to show a person walking through an alleyway in the 100 block of Bay Shore Avenue on Friday, Jan. 12, when they suddenly stop in front of a couple of Christmas trees outside. The person uses what appears to be a lighter to try and ignite the tree, but fails and goes off camera.

The person later returns and again tries to set the tree on fire with a lighter, this time using unknown items to seemingly fuel the flames. Once the flame begins to grow, they walk away.

Neighbors can be seen exiting their homes as the fire begins to spread to a nearby utility pole and garage. One neighbor can then be seen using a hose to try to subdue the flames.

Firefighters quickly responded to the alleyway just before 3:30 p.m. and extinguished the blaze within minutes, Brian Fisk, a spokesperson with the LBFD, said. Still, the fire is estimated to have caused anywhere between $20,000 and $30,000 worth of damages, Fisk said.

Fire investigators are still looking into the incident, Fisk said, but they suspect it was arson.

Neighbors along Bay Shore Avenue were confused when they saw smoke suddenly rising near them, according to a resident.

Kevin Nasseri, who lives just a few houses from where the trees were set ablaze, said he was having a late lunch on his roof Friday when his wife started yelling at him that there was a fire outside.

He said he quickly ran downstairs, grabbed a hose, and started yelling to alert his neighbors.

More neighbors soon ran out, and a passerby grabbed another hose to help, Nasseri said.

“What’s going on?” one neighbor in the video shared with the Post can be heard screaming when he steps outside.

“It’s electrical, I think,” another neighbor responds, referring to the cause of the fire.

But after looking through security cameras, Nasseri said they found out someone had set fire to the trees just moments earlier.

Nobody was hurt in the fire, according to the LBFD, but Nasseri said neighbors were frustrated by a lack of response from police during the incident.

“It’s a pretty significant event, and it seemed like it wasn’t being taken seriously by the police,” Nasseri said. “This guy was obviously in the area on foot, and he was definitely still in the area.”

The Long Beach Police Department did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Long Beach Post.

By sharing the video, Nasseri said he hopes to start a discussion about what can be done to prevent or respond to similar situations in the future.

“A lot of people in the area are fed up, but they’ve given up complaining,” Nazzeri said. “It’s a little unfortunate that it’s that way right now.”

Long Beach has recently seen a spike in the number of arson arrests and the total number of fires reported in the city.