Sunday’s Salon Fire Added to Arsonist List
A fire this week in a Panorama City hair salon has been added to the list of beauty salon blazes that police believe are the work of a single arsonist.
An arsonist broke into Obsession Studio in the 14600 block of Roscoe Boulevard early Sunday morning and set a fire that caused $6,000 damage, the Los Angeles City Fire Department said Tuesday.
The fire brought to 10 the number of hair and beauty salons damaged by fire since Feb. 3 in an area from Van Nuys to Mission Hills. The fires have caused more than $1 million damage.
Investigators have found no motive for the fires. They were set on four mornings and the arsonist used the same method with each, but the salons appear to have been chosen at random, investigators said.
“We are investigating this every way we can,” said Fire Department Inspector Ed Reed. “But that single element that . . . tells us who is doing it just isn’t there yet.”
Obsession Studio is only nine blocks from two other salons damaged by arson May 2. On Tuesday, owner George Arboleda was still cleaning up after the fire and wondering who was responsible.
“I have no idea who would want to do this,” he said. “But we are hoping to reopen as soon as we can get it cleaned up. We have to make a living.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
