A man was arrested on suspicion of arson on Thursday afternoon in the Woodland Hills near the Kenneth Fire, which had started earlier in the afternoon.
On X (formerly Twitter), the Los Angeles Police Department’s official Public Information Officer account announced: “At 4:32 p.m., a radio call was generated on the 21700 block of Ybarra Road for a possible arson suspect. A male was heard stating a suspect was ‘attempting to light a fire.’ The suspect is in custody and was transported to Topanga Station.”
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Ybarra Road is located in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, near the west San Fernando Valley, where the Kenneth Fire continues to blaze.
According to local news station KTLA, citizens in the area held down the suspect until the police arrived.
“What we know right now is that the incident occurred here and about 20 to 30 minutes later, a suspect was detained by citizens,” Sean Dinse of the LAPD’s Topanga Division is quoted as telling KTLA.
In a social media update post, the LAPD PIO stated that they could not confirm that the arsonist is in connection with the Kenneth Fire.
The LAPD had no further updates to share when contacted by TIME.
In a news conference on Thursday evening, Los Angeles Fire chief Kristin Crowley stated that the Kenneth Fire “shows we are absolutely not out of this extreme weather event.”
The blazes that are ravaging Los Angeles County have killed at least 10 people, according to a Jan. 9 update from the Los Angeles County’s Medical examiner, with officials warning that the actual toll won’t be clear until it’s safe for investigators to access damaged areas.
The Kenneth Fire grew rapidly to 1,000 acres within hours. As of 6 a.m. on Jan. 10, the blaze is at 960 acres, with 35% contained. Evacuation warnings are currently in place for Vanowen south to Burbank Boulevard and County Lane road east to E. Valley Circle Boulevard, though mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted.
But, things may change fast as the “challenging terrain and persistent winds complicate suppression activity,” according to Cal Fire. Citizens are advised to stay vigilant.
