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REPORT: ‘Person Of Interest’ Detained After Brush Fire Breaks Out Threatening Griffith Observatory

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Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
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A “person of interest” was reportedly detained by the Los Angeles Police Department after a fire broke out Tuesday near Griffith Observatory.

The brush fire in the Loz Feliz neighborhood was first reported around 2:45 pm, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) was able to contain the blaze at roughly six acres by 4:00 p.m., and the “person of interest” was detained by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the outlet continued. No further information has been provided about the detained individual. (RELATED: Wildfires Engulf And Destroy An Iconic California Seaside Town)

 

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The fire started around the Boy Scout Trail in Griffith Park, south of the iconic Griffith Park Observatory, the LA Times noted. Smoke and flames were visible as nearly 100 firefighters from LAFD battled both on the ground and from the air, the LA Times continued.

The park and surrounding hiking trails were all evacuated, but no homes were evacuated, park rangers told the outlet. The Observatory was closed to the public throughout the day on Tuesday, ABC7 reported.

LAFD started classifying homeless encampment fires and other acts of arson as separate incidents from traditional wildfires and domestic fires in 2021, according to another LA Times article. Rates of such fires rose by 54% to an average of 24 per day in the first half of the year, the outlet noted.