Police Arrest Arson Suspect Behind Massive New California Fire

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The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said on Thursday night that a new blaze that has erupted in the city is being treated as a suspected arson case.

The Kenneth Fire in West Hills quickly grew in just a couple of hours to 1,000 acres and is 0% contained as fire officials work to put out several other fires in the city.

LAPD Senior Lead Officer Charles Dinsel told reporters: “What we know right now is that the incident occurred, started here [Victory Trailhead], and about 20-30 minutes later, a suspect was detained over Woodland Hills area by citizens.”

When asked if someone “purposely set” the fire, he responded: “At this time, that’s what we believe, yes.”

The official said that they did not have a motive yet, but that the area was being treated as a crime scene.

Local radio station KFIAM640 posted a photo of the alleged suspect that also showed what appears to be a blow torch on top of the police car next to him.

The development comes as thousands of firefighters have been deployed to battle several other fires in Los Angeles over the last couple of days.

The Palisades Fire has destroyed more than 19,000 acres while the Eaton Fire, in Altadena, has destroyed more than 13,000 acres.

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Nearly 200,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes because the fires spread quickly due to the notorious Santa Ana winds in the area.

The wildfires are on track to be by far the most expensive wildfire in U.S. history, according to new estimates.

The Wall Street Journal obtained estimates from JPMorgan Chase that put the economic damages from the fire at $50 billion, a number that is likely to continue growing.

The New York Times reported that the two largest fires — the Eaton and Palisades fires — have destroyed as many as 10,000 structures.

The report said that the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California’s Butte County was previously considered to be the most destructive fire in U.S. history, causing $12.5 billion in insured losses.

AccuWeather’s Global Weather Center put the total estimated damage between $52 billion and $57 billion.

The figures account for “both direct and indirect impacts of the storm and includes both insured and uninsured losses,” The Hill reported.

Tens of thousands of acres of land have already been destroyed among several fires that have broken out throughout the city as new fires continued to flare up as recently as Thursday evening.

The report noted that hurricanes cause the largest insured losses, with Hurricane Katrina causing the most damage in history at more than a $100 billion in 2005. Hurricane Ian in 2022 was the second most destructive storm in history in terms of insured losses with more than $55 billion lost.



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