Blaze Destroys Vacant School
A spectacular fire destroyed three classroom buildings Tuesday night at the vacant Larch Elementary School near Hawthorne Boulevard and Imperial Highway in Lennox.
Flames from the fire, which started about 7 p.m., shot 150 feet into the sky, making them visible in the Sepulveda Pass more than 10 miles away, firefighters said. No injuries were reported, and the fire’s cause is under investigation.
“There is some speculation that the fire was set by a particular individual, a transient,” Hawthorne Fire Chief Roger Milstead said. “We’re chasing that lead down now.”
Larch was closed last year because of construction on the Century Freeway, and the property now belongs to Caltrans. The state highway agency built a replacement school a block up from the old site, also on Larch Avenue. The new Moffett Elementary School opened Aug. 22.
Kenneth Moffett, superintendent of the Lennox School District and for whom the school was named, said transients had been living at the old school since it was abandoned.
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.
