As if LA officials don’t have enough on their plates, they have another problem: Arsonists

By Zoe Sottile, CNN

(CNN) — As devastating wildfires have destroyed huge swaths of Los Angeles County, incinerating homes and leaving at least 27 people dead, fire and law enforcement authorities have also had to contend with multiple cases of arson.

Authorities have arrested at least eight people accused of setting new, small fires in the days since the larger fires erupted, including suspects setting trees, bushes, leaves and trash ablaze, officials said.

On the evening of January 14, a woman was arrested after allegedly setting multiple piles of rubbish and trash on fire, Jim McDonnell, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said at a news conference last week.

When the woman was arrested, she admitted to setting fires and said “she enjoyed causing chaos and destruction,” according to McDonnell.

Another suspect, arrested earlier on the same day after allegedly setting a fire in a tree, admitted to starting the fire “because he liked the smell of burning leaves,” said the police chief.

“There are people out there who – this is what they do,” said McDonnell. “If you know of those people, please give us a call before something really bad happens.”

Another suspect was arrested January 12 for an outstanding felony warrant for arson by North Hollywood officers, after using a barbecue lighter to light fires, according to McDonnell.

The string of arrests come as authorities continue to investigate the causes of the larger wildfires, combing the wreckage for clues. Authorities have not shared any specific information to suggest any individuals arrested for arson caused major fires.

At a news conference January 12, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said “we do not have any information that there’s any connection” between the Eaton and Palisades fires, which rank as the first- and second-most destructive fires in Southern California history. Firefighters are still working to contain the two largest blazes.

About 95% of fires in California are caused by humans, whether through an intentional act of arson, a downed power line, or a backyard barbecue party or fireworks celebration gone awry, Cal Fire officials said.

A total of 109 arson arrests were made in 2024, according to statistics from Cal Fire. The incidents can cause major problems. Arson-caused wildfires burned around 44,609 acres in 2020, the agency reported.

‘They think it’s a perfect time to do it,’ experts say

It is not unusual to see other crimes like arson in the aftermath of a natural disaster, said Bob Duval, a fire investigator and Northeast Regional Director for the National Fire Protection Association.

“They think it’s a perfect time to do it, because everybody’s tied up at the major fire scenes,” Duval told CNN. “There won’t be any police, there won’t be any firefighters or any security.”

Similarly, William Weinberg, a California-based criminal defense attorney who has worked on arson cases, told CNN copycat crimes are “really, really common.”

People who set fires in the aftermath of a massive wildfire may be more “attention-seeking” than trying to cause harm, Weinberg explained.

There is also “a strong mental health component” playing into many arson cases, he said.

A person who commits arson might be a “marginal person, a person who’s on the edge of society, who feels unconnected to society in some way,” Weinberg said. “Maybe they’re homeless, maybe they’ve got persistent mental health problems, they don’t feel connected to the rest of society.”

Duval said arson may stem from a variety of motivations, including mental health challenges, anger, revenge, “trying to make a statement,” or “mischief” and “blowing off steam.”

“It’s an unfortunate reality nowadays, when there’s fires like this,” the fire investigator said. “That there’s always going to be in the days following, some sort of disturbance or some sort of distraction, whether it’s looting or arson.”

And the crimes may draw much-needed resources away from the large wildfires devastating Los Angeles County.

“It’s pulling away resources from the other major fires,” said Duval. And in arson cases, “it becomes a crime scene.”

“That’s another case number for that investigator, whether it’s fire, law enforcement or both, they have to investigate it,” he said.

They would face ‘maximum punishments,’ DA says

Other crimes have also diverted law enforcement attention amid the blazes. Two people were arrested on Saturday for impersonating firefighters while driving a fake fire truck near the Palisades Fire, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. One of the suspects has a criminal history in Oregon for criminal mischief and arson, officials said.

Some 40 cases of looting have also been identified, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told CNN.

To ward off potential criminal activity and assist law enforcement efforts, thousands of National Guard members have been deployed to Southern California. Authorities have vowed to prosecute arson and other crimes committed during the wildfires to the fullest extent possible.

“We sent a warning early on to all would-be looters, to all would-be arsonists, to people who are engaging in any type of fire-related crime, whether it’s price gouging or these internet scams, that they would get arrested, they would be prosecuted, and they would see maximum punishments,” Hochman said. “That’s what exactly you’re going to see.”

Weinberg said cases of arson injuring or killing someone tend to be punished the most harshly, followed by those damaging structures, and others burning “open land.” If someone sets a fire that kills someone, they can be charged with homicide, he added.

Arson causing “great bodily injury” to another person can be punished by up to nine years in prison, and arson burning an “inhabited structure or inhabited property” by up to eight years, according to the California Penal Code.

Punishments may also vary based on motivation, according to Weinberg.

“Mental state is key,” he explained. “Reckless versus intentional, malicious.”

Although destructive crimes like arson in the aftermath of a massive crisis may be shocking, Weinberg said, they are not uncommon.

“There’s nothing new under the sun,” he said.

CNN’s Sara Smart and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.

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