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4 Brush Fires Investigated

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Los Angeles County fire crews put out four brush fires Saturday, all within 10 miles of each other in the the Valencia and Newhall areas. A Fire Department spokesman said that arson is suspected in each of the blazes.

A crew of 200 firefighters aided by three helicopters knocked down the largest of the fires at 6:15 p.m. after it burned for nearly two hours and consumed 20 acres of brush east of the Golden State Freeway near Calgrove Boulevard in Valencia, spokesman Charlie Gibson said.

Two fires that broke out shortly after noon and another that started about 2:30 p.m. each were confined to fewer than five acres.

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No injuries were reported in any of the fires and there was no reported property damage, Gibson said, although an earlier report indicated a roof had been slightly scorched when the 20-acre fire burned next to several homes off Calgrove Boulevard.

Gibson said an incendiary device was discovered by fire crews at about 12:10 p.m. near Hasley Canyon, north of the largest blaze.

An arson team from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was investigating the cause of the fires.

All four fires started within a 10-square-mile area, Gibson said, suggesting the fires were set deliberately.

Authorities said temperatures in the Newhall area Saturday afternoon climbed above 100 degrees and winds were gusting.

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