Spa Arsonist Caught on Video

Orange County Fire Authority officials released a videotape Wednesday of a man setting a fire--and catching fire himself--at a Laguna Hills day spa.

The video graphically shows the start of an early-morning Christmas blaze that destroyed the Body Centre on Avenida de la Carlota. A white male with a ponytail and wearing a long-sleeved shirt smashes the store window and throws an object into the spa. The flames shoot back, catching his shirt, arms and face, said Capt. Paul Hunter, Fire Authority spokesman.

“The man catches on fire and then turns around to pick up something [else] and throw it in,” Hunter said. “The man was obviously determined.”

Hunter said the arsonist may have been “significantly burned about the head, face, upper torso, hands and arms.” He added that though the man might have received some protection from his clothing, the extent of the burns would seem to have required hospital care. Hunter also said it was possible the man had died of his injuries, given their apparent severity.

The surveillance camera that caught the scenes is outside a nearby Trader Joe’s.

The video also shows two people running near the fire. Hunter said investigators are not treating them as suspects but are asking them to come forward with any information. Authorities have no suspects.

This was the second fire in recent weeks at the Body Centre, one of several shops in the strip mall. A blaze the day before Thanksgiving caused minor damage. A Molotov cocktail started that fire, Hunter said.

Saturday’s fire caused $1 million in damage to the spa and “significant” damage to a neighboring optometry business, authorities said.

Hunter said the woman who owns the spa, which offers massages and body wraps, has another shop in Costa Mesa. He said she has been questioned and is “cooperating with interviewers.”

Anyone with information is asked to call (714) 289-6526.

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Times wire services contributed to this report.