SPRING VALLEY, Calif. -- A man suspected of torching a ski boat being stored in front of an East County home was arrested Monday, along with two female companions, during a traffic stop a short time later.

A battalion chief with San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District happened to be driving in the 3400 block of Sweetwater Springs Boulevard in Spring Valley shortly before 7:30 a.m. when he saw the man hurl something at the 20-foot motor boat, which then burst into flames, fire district spokesman Leonard Villarreal said.

The suspected arsonist then got into a nearby vehicle occupied by two women and drove off. The battalion chief followed the car while making an emergency call to report the blaze, Villarreal said.

It took several minutes for a single truck crew to extinguish the flames, which destroyed the fiberglass body of the boat but caused no other damage or injuries.

The battalion chief, meanwhile, followed the vehicle to the west for about a mile and a half, until a deputy arrived and pulled it over in the 11000 block of Campo Road.

At that point, the arson suspect jumped out of the car and made a failed attempt to escape on foot. He was captured moments later and arrested along with the two women. Their names were not immediately available.

The motive for the crime was unclear, according to Villarreal. It was unclear if any components of the boat, which was valued at $10,000, might be salvageable, he said.

The sheriff's bomb-arson unit was called in to investigate.