LAPD Says Arson Suspect Is In Custody

The Los Angeles Police Department said it apprehended a suspect attempting to set a fire in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday. Police say the man was taken into custody around 4:30 after locals held him down until authorities arrived.

Officials have yet to confirm whether the man was responsible for the nearby Kenneth Fire, which began a little more than an hour after the man was apprehended.

That fire began on Thursday at around 3:16 p.m. in West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles before it spread to nearby Ventura County. According to Cal Fire, the conflagration has burned at least 960 acres so far.

“What we know right now is that incident occurred, started here,” LAPD Senior Lead Officer Charles Dinse told NewsNation’s Brian Entin. “And about 20 minutes, 30 minutes later, a suspect was detained over in Woodland Hills area by citizens.”

“So someone purposely set the Kenneth Fire?” Entin asked.

“At this time, that’s what we believe this, yes,” Dinse replied.

“Do you know how or why they did that?” the reporter followed up.

“That, I don’t know,” the officer answered before saying there is a criminal investigation into the matter.

The Los Angeles area has been beset by several fires since the beginning of the week amid drought conditions and high winds. The Pacific Palisades have been especially hard hit after a brush fire turned into an inferno that has damaged or destroyed 9,000 structures so far.

This is a developing story.

Watch above via NewsNation.