Police Friday evening arrested a man accused of setting a series of brush fires near the Hollywood Bowl.

The first fire was reported at 2301 N. Highland Ave. at 1:30 pm Friday afternoon.

By 1:39 pm a team of 64 firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department had arrived on the scene. They were able to contain the blaze in less than half an hour.

Ultimately, a quarter acre to a half acre of grass got burned, said Nicholas Prange, an LAFD spokesperson. It appears that no structures were damaged.


Another three or four fires were also reported along Cahuenga Blvd. but firefighters were able to get to them quickly and they never got as big as the first fire, Prange said. The fire department believes they were set by the same man.

Witness statements and evidence from the scene led police to arrest a man in his late 50s or early 60s on the Mulholland Drive bridge spanning the 101 free way at about 4pm Friday in connection with the fires. He has since been booked on suspicious of arson of forest land.

The identity of the man has not yet been released, and Prange said no motive has yet been determined.

