Fires

Ashley Greene's West Hollywood Condo Burns

Fire ripped through the condo of Twilight star Ashley Greene this morning. TMZ says one of her dogs perished in the blaze on North Crescent Heights Boulevard near Sunset. The L.A. Fire Department, which assisted county crews with the fire, first reported the blaze at ...

Fire Damages Chez Panisse in Berkeley

A fire broke out at the Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse shortly after 3 a.m. this morning, according to various San Francisco news outlets, damaging the front of the restaurant. Firefighters were able to get the fire under control before it spread to neighboring buildings, and reportedly prevented ... More >>

LAPD Rescues Woman From Exploding Tent On Skid Row (PHOTOS)

An LAPD officer was being praised by the department for bravely going where you or I probably would not have gone: Inside a burning tent to save a woman's life. It happened early today on Skid Row as cops on patrol as part of the LAPD's Safer Cities Initiative noticed the blaze:

Fire Blazes in Sepulveda Pass Next to 405: PHOTOS

See our many updates at the bottom, including confirmation of a separate fire on the ridge above Beverly Hills. A brush fire broke out in the Sepulveda Pass this afternoon, sending up a smoke visible from around L.A. and the Westside. ABC Eyewitness News estimated that more than 20 acres had gone ... More >>

Dorothee Burkhart, Mother of Accused Arsonist Harry Burkhart, Ordered to be Sent Back to Germany

Around New Year's Harry Burkhart went on an arson spree that terrorized Los Angeles, prosecutors say. And one of his reported motives was that his dear mother, a woman who ran an erotic massage business out of the same apartment building where the pair lived, was going to be extradited back to Germa ... More >>

Long Beach Cops Find House Filled With Pot, Shrooms, Peyote, Boa Constrictors, Tarantulas and a Scorpion

Livin' the dream in the LBC! This place makes Animal House look like a sober-living facility: Long Beach police raided a home on Caspian Avenue last night that was fully stocked with more psychedelics and exotic reptiles than a Mojave Desert trailer park. Here's all the loot that cops pulled from ... More >>

Multiple People Shot at Hollywood Residence That Went Up in Flames

Updated at the bottom with the suspected shooter, a fourth victim found inside the house. First posted at 1:04 p.m. At least three people were shot at a residence in Hollywood that went up in flames, according to police and fire officials. Police were called to 517 N. Harvard Boulevard at 12:40 p. ... More >>

Harry Burkhart: Vancouver Fires in 2011 Examined For Possible Links to L.A. Arson Suspect

Gauri Ma​Last year Vancouver saw a series of as many as a dozen of unsolved arson fires, mostly involving garages, recycling bins, fences, rubbish, landscaping and at least one vacant home and one car. It turns out that Harry Burkhart, the man suspected in a 53-fire spree in Los Angeles, live ... More >>

Harry Burkhart, Alleged L.A. Arsonist, Suspected of Burning Down German Home in October

L.A. arson fire suspect Harry Burkhart might have had some previous experience sparking blazes, at least according to allegations made public in the German media today. The German network PNN says authorities in that country suspect that Burkhart burned down his family's home in the town of Schwalm ... More >>

Harry Burkhart's Alleged L.A. Arson Spree Brings Formal Charges: 37 Counts of Setting Fires

Updated at the bottom with Burkhart's huge bail amount and a new court date. First posted at 3:27 p.m. The man who authorities say terrorized L.A. with a three-day series of arson fires has formally been charged for causing most of the spree. Harry Burkhart, the 24-year-old with apparent German ci ... More >>

L.A. Arson Fires: Suspect Under Arrest, LAFD Says

Updated at the bottom with an official arrest (the third since Thursday). Fire officials now count 53 blazes in the arson spree. First posted at 2:48 a.m. Monday. The L.A. arson fires have sated the city's everlasting expectation for the criminally bizarre, but so far there's no Michael Connelly en ... More >>

Harry Burkhart, L.A. Arson Fires Suspect From Germany, Says 'I Hate America'

See our report about Burkhart's mother being linked to an erotic massage business here. First posted at 7:59 p.m. Monday The man who terrorized L.A. for three nights with a series of 53 arson fires turned out to be a 24-year-old from Germany identified as Harry Burkhart, at least according to autho ... More >>

Jim Morrison's 'Love Street' House Catches Fire in Hollywood Arson Spree: Balcony That Inspired the Song Burns

homeaway.com.auThe canyon home that inspired "Love Street."​The hills of Hollywood and West Hollywood came under attack last night: A mysterious arsonist (or team of arsonists) started 19 car fires in the wealthy area, some of which spread to nearby homes. Luckily, no residents have been repo ... More >>

INCENDIARY: The Willingham Case Review

Dog Slashed to Death, Fires Started by Stanton Suspect Jaime Arturo Garcia, Who Faces Allegations in Court Today

File photo of a dachshund.​Update: Dude pleaded not guilty today. First posted at 12:04 p.m. A 30-year-old from the Orange County armpit of Stanton faces an animal cruelty charge today after authorities said he slit the throat of his 7-year-old dachshund, Dexter, which succumbed to its injuri ... More >>

Alhambra Arson Foul Play?

Chinese community hero Ken Toh was tried as a criminal after finding a body in the rubble

Woman, Dog Living in 'Packrat' Conditions Die in Van Nuys House Fire

KTLAA similarly packed North Hollywood home that went up in flames two years ago​An 80-year-old woman who had been living in her Van Nuys home since the 1960s died in the hospital this morning after a house fire burned 80 percent of her body, according to KNX news radio. Her dog was also a v ... More >>

Former Alhambra Fireman Claims his Boss Covered Up Evidence of Arson and Punished Him After Trying to Solve the Crime

​Did a former Alhambra Fire Department official knowingly suppress evidence of an arson and then punish the fireman who tried to make things right? The answer is a resounding 'Yes,' if you ask the fireman. Ken Toh, who worked at the fire department for 15 years, recently filed a lawsuit against ... More >>

Marina Del Rey Suspect Dane Reynaldo Accused of Making Threats, Tossing Molotov Cocktail Over Purported Drug Debt on the Westside

szekeMarina Del Rey, home of the drug thug?​An alleged thug who cops say threatened a man and tried to burn down his Mid-City home because of a drug debt owed by a relative of the victim was nabbed on the boat he lived on in Marina Del Rey, cops say. Who knew the (alleged) bad guys live large ... More >>

L.A. Coroner Unearths Dead Body in Backyard of Shady Lennox 'Drug House', Keeps Digging

Bad landlords beware​Update: OK. This could not possibly get more ridiculous. SOMEONE JUST SET THE HOUSE ON FIRE. Update: A suspect is under arrest! Sheriff's investigators found him near Beverly and Rosemead Boulevards in Pico Rivera. We assume the man in question is Marcos Lomeli (refer to ... More >>

San Gabriel Valley Grow House Suspected Of Supplying Weed To Dispensaries Goes Up In Smoke

A grow house in the SGV went up in flames, a little.​A grow house in the SGV went up in flames, a little.​Note to self: When setting up 1,700-plant marijuana grow house in the San Gabriel Valley try not to burn the place down. Got it. So where were we? Oh yeah, a 1,700-plant cannabis h ... More >>

Updated: Dominick's Closes Temporarily Due To Fire Damage

Dominick's​ Update: Dominick's reopens today, Monday, November 22nd. In celebration of the reopening, the restaurant will host a "Sunday Supper" this Wednesday, November 24, boasting the familiar deals: $15 for three courses, $12 bottles of wine and $3 Morettis. Turn the page for the origina ... More >>

Teenage Twins Die In Baldwin Village Fire

Google Maps​Fifteen-year-old male twins perished in a Baldwin Village apartment fire early Thursday, Los Angeles city fire officials said. The blaze in the 4000 block of Ursula Avenue was reported shortly after 3 a.m. A cousin of the pair told the Los Angeles Times that the boys often slept w ... More >>

Up In Smoke: Blazing Teen Sets Brush Ablaze In Northern Los Angeles

​A young stoner's worst nightmare came true over the weekend when a 14-year-old allegedly sparking up some weed accidentally set a 43-acre brush fire near Saugus, sheriff's officials said. The teenager was arrested in the 21100 block of Altena Drive, an area where sheriff's officials believe ... More >>

Crown Fire: Containment Of Palmdale Blaze Expected Today

​The Crown Fire in northern Los Angeles County that burned nearly 14,000 acres since it broke out Thursday afternoon was expected to be contained by late Monday, county fire officials said. About 2,460 structures near and in Palmdale had been threatened, they said. It was one of two fires tha ... More >>

Brush Fires Burn In Northern Los Angeles County

​Updated throughout. The Crown Fire in northern Los Angeles County that burned nearly 14,000 acres since it broke out Thursday afternoon was 62 percent contained Saturday afternoon, county fire officials said. About 2,460 structures near and in Palmdale remained threatened, they said. It was ... More >>

Two People Found Dead In East Los Angeles Tire Shop Fire

​A commercial building fire broke out early Monday morning at a tire and muffler repair shop located on the 800 block of Esperanza Street in East Los Angeles. According to KTLA Morning News, two people were found dead inside the structure. The fire began around 6:30 a.m. and was extinguished ... More >>

Chere Osmanhodzic, L.A. Homicide No. 162: Woman Found Dead Inside Burning Home in Valley Village

​A 34-year-old woman was found burned to death inside her home in Valley Village, and police are asking for the public's help in solving the strange caper. According to police reports, firefighters were called to the 11500 block of Riverside Drive at approximately 7 p.m. Saturday. The Fire Dep ... More >>

Fire Breaks Out In Sepulveda Pass Next To 405 Freeway [Updated]

​[Updated throughout]: In what seems to have become a spring-and-summer tradition in Los Angeles, a two-acre fire broke out Monday in the Sepulveda Pass along the 405 freeway near Skirball Center Drive, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. About 110 firefighters and three helicopter- ... More >>

L.A. Firefighters Battle 32-Hour Blaze

Pick Your Part​While you were enjoying the warm weekend barbecuing, hanging out at the beach and watching the Lakers, 250 firefighters were busy battling one of the more stubborn blazes in memory: A junkyard fire in Wilmington lasted 32 hours, 10 minutes. Shortly before 8 on Sunday night a Los ... More >>

Two Detained Following Series Of Venice Fires

Venice.​Two young men were detained Friday after a series of apparent arson fires broke out in Venice in recent weeks, authorities said. Undercover fire investigators from the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, staked the area out overnight ... More >>

Man Sets House on Fire Because Wife Didn't Have Dinner Ready

Carolhawkins.com/Christie Bishop​ Ladies, here's a question for you. Say you've had a long day at work -- or home -- and you're running late making dinner. Your husband gets home and there's no dinner on the table. What's his reaction? A) He says no big deal; you usually cook together anyway; ... More >>

Worker Who Burned Homeless Man Alive Gets Life Behind Bars

Google Maps​A barbershop worker who killed a homeless man he didn't like by setting him afire in Koreatown in 2008 was sentenced Wednesday to life behind bars without the possibility of parole, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office announced. Ben Matthew Martin, 31, had already pl ... More >>

Mechanic Sentenced To Five Years After Setting Man On Fire

​For a guy who nearly burned the last breath out of a homeless man by setting his cart on fire, five years seems like a short stint in the big house. (Pot growers can get such terms under federal law). But that was punishment handed down to Hector Manuel Medina this week after he admitted sett ... More >>

Suspect Wanted For Questioning In Station Fire Arrested

A 25-year-old man wanted for questioning in the 160,000-acre Station Fire, which raged in August and September and was only fully contained Friday, has been arrested in connection with a smaller, nearby fire that burned in August, Sgt. David Infante of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department rep ... More >>

ALL DANCING, ALL COMPOSING

Mayor Getting Singed by Fallout from Fire Cuts

Talk about the chickens coming home to roost. Only a few weeks ago the mayor was excoriating the firefighters union for sending out mailers claiming that Mr. Villaraigosa's July fire department budget cuts would compromise public safety. The mailer, which used images from Chatsworth's 2008 Amtrak di ... More >>

Murder Was the Case: L.A. Homicide No. 133: Body of Grandmother and Dog Found Dead in Botched Arson

The body of a grandmother and her small dog were found dead in an apparent arson fire at a Pacoima apartment on June 11. ABC 7According to media reports, the victim is 65-year-old Betty Olgilvie. Victim: Betty Olgilvie Few details of the alleged murder are available but Olgilvie's niece's boyfrie ... More >>

Settin' the Woods on Fire: Griffith Park Arsonist Sentenced

It was a case of "clothes unmake the man." When police came across a group of Griffith Park bicyclists during a fire there last August 23, one stood out because he wasn't dressed for riding. Gary Lintz's booking photoGary Lintz, a transient whose last known address was in Glendale, was arrested on t ... More >>

Update on Sayre Fire in Sylmar: Biggest Arson Investigation in Los Angeles history?

Updated at 4:53 pm and revised number of homes burned Los Angeles police and fire officials are now floating the chilling possibility that they may find bodies inside the Oakridge Park mobile home neighborhood once they get a handle on the Sayre Fire, still only 10 percent contained. By their calcul ... More >>

LA Weekly Newspaper Helps Solve String of Arson Fires

Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigators were perplexed by a rash of arson fires around the neighborhood of Los Feliz in early June. The dozen or so rubbish fires were started in trashcans near bus shelters and were put out immediately by city firefighters. Investigators caught a break lat ... More >>

Hollywood Nightclub Inferno Still Under Investigation

There is still no news on what caused the fire that gutted a popular celebrity hangout in Hollywood according to Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigators. The Basque Restaurant & Nightclub, located on the corner of historic Hollywood and Vine, was a hotspot for young celebrities and a regul ... More >>

Was the Universal Studios Fire an accident?

Early reports are calling the fire that gutted three acres of Universal Hollywood's back lot an accident. However, it is unclear what caused the June 1 fire and whether the studios antiquated sprinkler system hampered the firefighters' efforts to save its famous tour relics, including its gargantuan ... More >>

Remembering LA Firefighter Brent Lovrien

Hundreds of firefighters and other emergency workers gathered to remember Los Angeles city firefighter Brent A. Lovrien, who died in a freak accident on March 26 when a saw he was using to break into a locked, smoke-filled electrical storage room near Sepulveda and La Tijera caused a spark that set ... More >>

Burning Man Burns Early

News Flash from the Playa: The Man Upstaged the Moon By Judith Lewis Here's the news. While the full eclipsed moon still floated above the Playa like a smooth orange balloon, the man went up in flames. In case you haven't been here, this typically happens on Saturday, at the end of the event. Not ... More >>

Watch Your Language

The Caged Lion

Environmentalist Rod Coronado returns to prison a decade after his radical heyday

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Exclusive interview with Caltech’s 'accused terrorist'

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But the ''Y'' Looked Cool