LAPD On Tactical Alert After Arsonist Starts 19 Fires
WEST HOLLYWOOD (CBS) — The LAPD is on tactical alert as authorities search for an arsonist who started 19 fires over a four-hour period Friday morning.
"I've been a firefighter for almost 25 years now and this is one for the books," Batt. Chief Tom Sullivan, who mans the LACFD's command post, told CBS2.
Authorities began receiving calls about the fires just after midnight. By dawn, crews had extinguished six fires in West Hollywood and 13 within the city of Los Angeles' fire district.
Five vehicles were damaged in one of the first fires to be reported.
Several of the blazes, which all started with vehicles, spread to nearby structures. Jim Morrison's former home in the 8100 block of Kirkwood Drive was one of several that suffered extensive damage.
"These are very dangerous fires, something we don't look forward to," LAFD Chief Mario Rueda said. "These can certainly lead to death and serious injury of folks."
The Los Angeles Fire Department is asking anyone with information to call its arson hotline at (800)633-2836. Authorities say anyone who sees suspicious activity should call 911 immediately.
