Barbecue Burn Victim Improves

A Castaic man who suffered second- and third-degree burns while setting up a weekend barbecue was improving Monday at Sherman Oaks Burn Center, officials said.

The victim was injured about 5:20 p.m. Sunday after he squirted lighter fluid on burning charcoal, which flared up and caught his clothes on fire, said a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The man, who was not identified, extinguished the fire by rolling on the lawn, which was being watered at the time with sprinklers, officials said. He suffered burns to his hips and face. His condition was upgraded Monday from critical to stable, hospital officials said.