Multiple small fires were extinguished in the exclusive Beverly Glen neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, and arson investigators were searching for the cause after a person of interest who was detained was determined not to be involved.
Los Angeles Police Department officers were called to Beverly Glen Boulevard and Mulholland Drive just after 1 p.m., Officer Drake Madison said. Officers were looking for a 25-year-old male arsonist, he said.
Aerial video from Sky5 showed a shirtless man being apparently handcuffed and detained just before 1:30 p.m. He was placed into the back of a police vehicle.
Madison later confirmed one possible suspect was in custody, but Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department said that individual was questioned and released. The “person of interest” was determined not to have any involvement with the three fires, Scott said on Twitter.
The three fires burned within a half-mile stretch of Beverly Glen Boulevard, according to information provided by Scott.
One was about 40 feet by 15 feet, another 50 feet by 10 feet, and the smallest was 4 feet by 2 feet, Scott said.
In an initial alert, Scott estimated the fires were all less than 10 feet by 10 feet. Firefighters were called to the area at 12:54 p.m., he said.
The Fire Department’s Arson Section investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fires, Scott said.
Anyone with information on the fires was asked to call the LAFD Arson Section at 213 893-9850.
There was elevated fire danger in Los Angeles and Ventura counties Thursday due to a continued warming trend that was pushing temperatures over 100 degrees in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.
KTLA’s Jennifer Thang contributed to this article.