Series of High Desert Fires Probed as Possible Arsons

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating whether arson is to blame for a series of fires that have occurred in the Antelope Valley over the past two weeks.

There have been at least 26 fires of suspicious origin in the area in just the past five days, said Chief Steven Sherrill of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. More than 40 suspicious fires have burned in the past two weeks, he said. The blazes have involved structural fires and brush fires.

One firefighter suffered minor injuries and about a half-dozen structures burned in the fires, most of which have been limited to 30 acres or less, officials said.

“Under these hot conditions, it creates dangerous situations,” Sherrill said. “Until we do a complete investigation we won’t know if they were caused by arson or accidents or carelessness. But most of these fires are considered suspicious.”

“Most of the fires have been kept real small but there’s been a lot of them.”

No new fires were reported Friday.

With unusually dense vegetation in the area caused by heavy rainfall from this year’s El Nino-driven storms, this has the potential to be one of the most dangerous fire seasons ever, fire officials said.

Most of the fires have burned in the eastern portion of the Antelope Valley, said Sgt. Heidi Clark of the sheriff’s Arson Explosives Detail, which investigates suspicious fires.

“In some cases, the Fire Department would be on the scene of one fire and another would start up somewhere else,” Clark said.

Lancaster City Manager Jim Gilley said at least four small blazes have occurred within the city limits and two larger fires in nearby unincorporated areas.

“It’s extraordinary the amount of brush we have this year,” Gilley said. “We’re ripe for these kinds of incidents. We’re taking it very seriously.”

Gilley said city officials have stepped up their enforcement of code violations involving overgrown weeds and brush in an attempt to eliminate potential targets for arsonists.

“These fires have been suspicious,” he said. “How many ways can natural fires start unless you have lightning? And we haven’t had any of that.”

Fire Chief Michael Balzano of Battalion 11, which operates in the northern portion of the Antelope Valley, said it is often difficult to determine whether a brush fire has been set deliberately.

“They usually fall in the category of suspicious but it’s hard to say for sure it it’s arson.”