Sunday, October 20th, the 110 Northbound Freeway easement experienced 3 fires in the same area within an hour of each other. Each time a fire occurred I was asked to help locate the suspect.
Fire 1 occurred at 602pm
Fire 2 occurred at 709pm
Fire 3 occurred at 947pm
During the last fire, I was able to locate the suspect. A transient that has been in our area for nearly 5 years. The individual appeared to be suffering from some mental health issues. Fire station 79 was able to get the arson investigation team to the location within an hour. This was the first time in my memory that a fire along the freeway had been treated like an arson.
Complicated jurisdictions again make reporting difficult. The fire took place within Caltrans property. The responsible law enforcement agency should have been CHP. Damages occurred to Soto Nursery which falls under the City of Los Angeles & LAPD jurisdiction.
Let's talk about this specific incident:
Arson investigators interviewed witnesses and took statements.
LAPD Southeast officers responded to the third incident since we had a suspect. They interviewed witnesses, took statements and reviewed evidence.
The owner of the nursery was present at each incident.
LAPD could not take a crime report because the fire started in Caltrans property.
LAPD officers did file an incident report so that a record was created.
The suspect was ultimate let go as none of the witnesses saw him set the fires. They saw him walking away from the area as the fires were burning.
CHP was contacted this morning so that a report could be filed by the victim.
Caltrans was notified this morning of the fire and a clean up is being scheduled.
There is no reporting of fires along Caltrans areas to elected representatives and/or law enforcement agencies. This has been a concern of mine for the past two years. It is the reason FOX11 and other news outlets have been providing coverage.
To report any issues including homeless encampments along Caltrans property, submit a CSR directly to Caltrans by clicking here
Our local CHP office is located at 19700 Hamilton Ave in Harbor Gateway/Torrance 90502.
Phone number is (424) 551 4000
Fire Station 79 serves the City of Los Angeles community of Harbor Gateway. They are located at 18030 S Vermont Ave, Harbor Gateway/Gardena 90248.
Phone number is (310) 548 7579
Fire Station 95 services the Unincorporated LA County areas of East Gardena, West Rancho Dominguez, Rosewood and City of Gardena. They are located at 137 W Redondo Beach Blvd, East Gardena/West Rancho Dominguez 90248.
Phone number is (310) 769 6746
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