Cause of $1.3-Million Fire at Lumberyard Unknown

The cause of a $1.3-million fire at a Northridge lumberyard, in an area where more than 25 small arson fires were set earlier this week, was unknown Friday because damage was so extensive that there were few clues as to what started the blaze, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.

The fire, which erupted after 9 p.m. Thursday at the Terry Lumber Co. complex at 18300 Parthenia Street, was believed to have started in a small storage shed attached to two larger buildings that were destroyed in the fire, officials said.

Firefighters and Terry employees said small fires had been started outside the shed on the two days previous to Thursday’s fire. The shed had been used by transients until earlier this week, when the area was cleared out after a man who had been stabbed in a fight was found collapsed inside, employees said.