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An arson suspect has been arrested around the area of the newly-sparked Kenneth fire after being accused of attempting to ignite a new blaze with a “flamethrower”.
The Kenneth blaze broke out north of the Palisades fire on Thursday, threatening homes near Calabasas and Hidden Hills, as wildfires continue to cause devastation across southern California, taking at least 10 lives, according to the Department of Medical Examiner. It has since spread to almost 1,000 acres and is 35 percent contained.
While the cause for the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst friends are still under investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department initially said it believed the Kenneth fire was started intentionally.
At about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, law enforcement officers responded to reports of a man attempting to light a fire behind a van on the 21700 block of Ybarra Road in Woodland Hills.
According to a witness, the man is believed to be in his mid-20s and speak Spanish as his first language.
“What we know right now is the incident occurred; started here,” Sean Dinse, Senior Lead Officer of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Topanga Division, told KTLA 5.
“And about 20 minutes 30 minutes later, a suspect was detained over the Woodland Hills area by citizens.”
Locals who spotted the suspect and called 911 rallied together to corner the man, before binding his wrists with rope and zip ties and holding him down until police arrived.
“All of a sudden I hear a car come to a screeching halt, and I hear a guy running out saying, ‘Stop, stop, drop what you’re holding, drop what you’re holding,’” Renata Grinshpun, a woman involved in the citizen’s arrest, told the local news station.
“The next thing we hear is, ‘Neighbours, neighbors, he’s trying to start a fire. Call 911, call 911.’ My mom ran out in a bathrobe ready to fight that guy and all of the neighbors started coming out, calling 911. We really bound together as a group.”
The arson suspect was allegedly armed with an incendiary device, according to the witness.
“He had a propane tank, or a… it was a big yellow tank, like a flame-thrower basically. The neighbor said he saw the guy behind a van, trying to light something on fire,” she continued.
The suspect claimed that he used a blowtorch “to smoke marujuana” because he “couldn’t afford a lighter,” according to Grinshpun.
An investigation remains active, while the suspect’s potential motivations are unclear, police said.
It comes as brush fires raged across the Los Angeles area for a fourth day on Friday.
The Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive the city has seen, is now at six percent containment.
The fire has scorched almost 20,000 acres, while the Altadena and Pasadena-based Eaton fire has burned 13,690 acres.
The Sunset fire in the Hollywood Hills engulfed 43 acres before it was extinguished on Thursday.
The Independent has contacted the LAPD for more information.
