The Buckweed fire in the Agua Dulce and Santa Clarita areas was ignited by a youth playing with matches, sheriff's officials say.
By Andrew Blankstein and Jean-Paul Renaud, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
October 31, 2007
A fire that charred more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes in northern Los Angeles County last week was sparked by a boy playing with matches, sheriff's officials said Tuesday.
The disclosure about the Buckweed fire, initially blamed on downed power lines, came as firefighters continued to push forward in containing the region's blazes and as health officials announced that strenuous outdoor exercise was no longer hazardous in most of Southern California. Authorities in all seven counties struck by the fires said air quality had improved significantly.
L.A. County Sheriff's Department arson investigators did not name the boy believed responsible for the Buckweed fire. Nor did they give his age or the community where he and his family live.
"We have identified a juvenile boy as the person who started the fire," said Steve Whitmore, a department spokesman. "Arson investigators interviewed the young man, and he acknowledged he had been playing with matches and accidentally started a fire."
The boy was released to the custody of his parents. The case has been turned over to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. The only other information Whitmore provided was that investigators concluded the fire was sparked by an individual the day after it began but that it took more time to link the blaze to the boy.
The fire broke out the afternoon of Oct. 21 in the 11700 block of West Mint Canyon Road in Agua Dulce, an unincorporated area northeast of Santa Clarita in northern Los Angeles County. Fanned by powerful Santa Ana winds, the fire roared south, eventually threatening homes in numerous subdivisions in the Santa Clarita area.
At its height, the blaze forced more than 15,000 people from their homes and was battled by 1,200 firefighters. It was contained Oct. 24.
