Authorities Identify Person of Interest in Massive Fire That Damaged and Closed Stretch of Major Highway
Investigators on Saturday identified a person of interest in the Los Angeles arson fire that closed a central freeway for days as repair crews work around the clock to fix it.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, and the state fire marshal released two photos in a “crime alert” posted to social media and said it was seeking the public’s help to identify the person.
The individual was described as a man 30 to 35 years old, about 6 feet tall and weighing between 170 and 190 pounds. Details about how he was identified were not immediately released.
The photographs show him wearing blue shorts, a black hooded sweatshirt, a green scarf and a brace on the right knee. The individual is carrying a backpack and “appears to have visible burn injuries” on his left leg, the bulletin states.
Please read the attached crime alert. If you have any information, please contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal Arson and Bomb Unit at arsonbomb@fire.ca.gov or call the CAL FIRE Arson Hotline at 1-800-468-4408. pic.twitter.com/bSB8POYLk9
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) November 18, 2023
Representatives for the mayor, the governor and the state fire marshal did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The state fire marshal oversees the agency’s Arson and Bomb Unit, which is investigating the fire.
All lanes of Interstate 10 near downtown are expected to reopen by Tuesday, far ahead of the initial three- to five-week schedule.
Crews were brought in to shore up the mile-long stretch after the blaze last Saturday burned about 100 support columns. The fire spread quickly over 8 acres and was fed by pallets, cars, construction materials, hand sanitizer and other items being stored under the freeway.
No injuries were reported, but at least 16 homeless people living in an encampment there were taken to shelters.
No arrests have been made, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has said investigators are trying to determine if more than one person was involved.
An estimated 300,000 vehicles use the stretch of freeway daily, which runs east-west across the heart of the metropolis and connects with other major highways.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
