Suspicious Blaze Destroys 3 Houses

Almost one week to the minute after a possible arson fire destroyed 20 houses under construction in Palmdale, a blaze of suspicious origin raced through a construction project near neighboring Lancaster Tuesday, destroying three partially completed houses and damaging two others, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

The fire, west of Quartz Hill, caused an estimated $230,000 damage, said Fire Department spokesman Chris Button.

The blaze was reported at 6:01 p.m., only three minutes after the time last week’s fire started 12 miles away, Button said.

Both fires started about three hours after the last workers left for the day, he said. “I think it’s suspicious because of the length of time between the time construction stopped and the time the fire started,” Button said.

Unlike the wind-driven fire last week, which caused an estimated $1.5 million in damage at the California Dawn development, the wind pushed flames away from other houses under construction Tuesday, limiting damage, Button said.

An investigation into last week’s blaze has turned up no physical evidence of arson, Button said. But investigators said the blaze began in the rafters of a building, which they called an unlikely ignition point for an accidental fire.