Police have said they believe the latest fire to break out was intentionally ignited
A man has been detained on suspicion of starting one of the Los Angeles wildfires, the LA Police Department has announced.
Five wildfires are currently still active in LA, killing 10 people and destroying more than 10,000 properties across the region.
The newest of the five fires is the Kenneth Fire, which broke out on Thursday afternoon on the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The blaze has already burned over 1,000 acres of land.
The LAPD has said it believes this fire was intentionally ignited though, and a man has been detained on suspicion of arson.
At around 4:30pm local time, police responded to reports of a man attempting to light a fire in the a block of Ybarra Road in Woodland Hills.
The suspect had been spotted by residents, who managed to hold him down until officers arrived, KTLA reports.
Sean Dinse, from LAPD’s Topange Division, said: “What we know right now is that the incident occurred here and about 20-30 minutes later, a suspect was detained by citizens.
When asked whether fire may have been arson, he said: “At this time, that’s what we believe. It’s being investigated as a crime.”
An arson investigation is underway and no further details on the suspect were released.
Related links:
According to CalFire, the Kenneth Fire has been 35% contained.
Along with the Kenneth fire, the other active fires are Palisades, Eaton, Hurst and Lidia.
Fire authorities said the Palisades blaze, which is already expected to be the most destructive fire in state history, has destroyed more than 5,000 properties, including the homes of several celebrities.
The Eaton Fire has potentially damaged or destroyed between 4,000 and 5,000 structures.
Firefighters have managed to contain 6% of the Palisades fire. Although firefighters have yet to contain any of the Eaton fire, they have managed to “significantly stop” the 13,690-acre blaze, CBS News reports.
Meanwhile, the Lidia Fire is 75% contained and the Hurst Fire is 37% contained.
The Woodley, Tyler, Olivas and Sunset fires have all been 100% contained.
The insurance industry fears this could prove to be one of the costliest wildfire outbreaks in US history, with insured losses expected above $8bn (£6.5bn) due to the high value of properties in the paths of the blazes.
According to Accuweather, the total estimated damage from the wildfires could be as much as $150bn.
