County / IN BRIEF : LAKEWOOD : Student Arrested in School Arson

A 16-year-old male student was arrested on suspicion of arson Tuesday several hours after a fire caused $225,000 to the multipurpose room at Artesia High School in Lakewood, sheriff’s deputies said. The room was empty when the 10:50 a.m. blaze started in a sofa on the stage, county fire officials said. There were no injuries. Arson detectives determined that the fire had been deliberately set and arrested the youth, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Moya. The 10th-grader, who name was not released because of his age, was booked on suspicion of arson at the Lakewood substation and released to his parents, Moya said. County firefighters extinguished the blaze in about 25 minutes. Most of the damage was confined to the stage area and the roof. There were no evacuations or disruption of classes at the school, which has more than 1,700 students.