Two men detained after 11 fires are set in an hour in North Hollywood
All 11 of the fires were set within a half-mile radius in North Hollywood in a one-hour span.
Two men were detained Wednesday as the Los Angeles Fire Department investigated 11 suspicious fires set in the morning in North Hollywood, authorities said.
The LAFD responded to a series of dumpster and automobile fires, mostly on Tujunga Avenue, as well as a more substantial fire at the old Lamplighter Family Restaurant in the 6200 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Fire Department spokesperson Nicholas Prange said.
All of the fires occurred within a half-mile of one another within a one-hour span, starting around 6:40 a.m., the LAFD said.
“We don’t have any evidence right now to say definitively that this fire is related to all the other fires. Obviously there is concern … but we don’t know which are connected at this point,” Prange said.
There is an active arson investigation into the fires, Prange said.
About 100 firefighters fought the flames at the former restaurant for a few hours. The building suffered a substantial collapse, the department said.
Video taken by KTTV-TV Channel 11 showed the building’s smoldering, collapsing roof as well as other small fires in the area.
No one was injured in the fires, according to the LAFD.
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