A 26-year-old man, Kevin Caledron, has been arrested and charged with tampering with a vehicle following a brush fire in the Griffith Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. According to police, a witness reported a homeless individual setting a fire in the area, but Caledron was not facing arson charges, and it was unclear how the tampering charges related to the fire.
Caledron is being held on a $30,000 bond and is facing two misdemeanor charges. The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department were able to quickly extinguish the fire near the Griffith Observatory after it was reported.
The arrests come amid the ongoing wildfires that have ravaged the area, killing 27 people so far. The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have made dozens of arrests in evacuation zones, charging suspects with arson, looting, and price gouging among other crimes.