Californian police arrested a man on suspicion of arson on Sunday after firefighters saw him lighting fires about 12 miles south east of the Eaton fire—the deadliest blaze, as of Monday morning, in fires raging across the Los Angeles area.
Ruben Montes, 29, of Baldwin Park, was detained and arrested after firefighters responding about 12:30 p.m. local time to a small brush fire in Irwindale, near Rivergrade Road and the 605 Freeway.
"While on scene, LACOFD personnel observed a suspect actively lighting fires in the area," Irwindale Police Department wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
At least 16 people have died in the Eaton fire, the Los Angeles County coroner's office has said. The fire has also destroyed more than 7,000 structures, according to latest Cal Fire estimates.
This breaking story will be updated.
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Khaleda Rahman
Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, sexual ...
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