Southern California authorities have arrested two people in separate fire-starting incidents amid the deadly, days-long wildfire that has burned down Los Angeles County neighborhoods, killed at least 24 people, and forced thousands to evacuate.
Police from different agencies said two of those arrested have been charged with arson, while investigators lacked enough probable cause to charge a third man originally handcuffed on suspicion of arson. That suspect was charged with a separate felony.
None of those in custody have been accused of starting the major fires in the area or been otherwise tied to them.
Police in Azusa said they arrested a homeless man late Friday after a witness reported the transient for starting a brush fire in Pioneer Park.
Authorities said they took Jose Carranza-Escobar into custody around 11:35 p.m. The suspect admitted to police he ignited the fire, and was booked into jail on arson charges, authorities said.
Fire crews quickly extinguished the blaze, police said.
“People who live along the foothills are at a higher alert state right now and everybody’s watching to prevent individuals who take pleasure in causing damage with fire,” Azusa Police Captain Robert Landeros told Newsweek.
He said the department has extra officers on patrol to watch for the incendiary behavior and encourages residents to phone police about any suspicious behavior they see.
State park authorities said a woman was charged with arson Wednesday after she was accused of starting a brush fire near Leo Carrillo State Park in Los Angeles County.
Suspect Gloria Lynn Mandich, 60, is being kept behind bars in Ventura County, police said.
“If it is determined that there is a manmade or intentional setting of any of the fires in this situation, the people who committed this arson will be arrested. They will be prosecuted. They will be punished to the full extent of the law,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochmann said last week.
A man held down by citizens Thursday near Woodland Hills was also suspected of igniting a fire, but police later cleared him of starting a small blaze.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Dominic Choi said Friday police didn’t have enough evidence to hold or charge the man, who wasn’t named.
“After the interview and additional investigative steps, looking at some additional evidence that was present, they made the determination that there was not enough probable cause to arrest this person on arson or suspicion of arson,” Chief Choi said.
Police said that fire was stopped after spreading about 1,000 acres. No structures were lost in the flames.
But the man was charged with a felony probation violation.
At least 24 people have been killed and more than 150,000 evacuated in the Los Angeles fires, the first of which began Tuesday morning near the Palisades in northern Los Angeles County.
What started the still-raging blaze is under investigation, but fire officials say a mix of dry conditions and high winds helped whip the flames across the most populous county in the nation.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Sunday nearly 30 people have been taken into custody for either looting or violating evacuation orders since the fires started.
Sheriff Robert Luna said one burglary suspect was posing as a firefighter when he was nabbed by officers.
“When I was out there in the Malibu area, I saw a gentleman that looked like a firefighter. And I asked him if he was OK because he was sitting down. I didn’t realize we had him in handcuffs,” the sheriff said during a press briefing.
