A small brush fire broke out at Griffith Park Monday afternoon, and though firefighters appeared to quickly gain control of the situation, it appears the blaze was started on purpose.
The fire was reported just after 1 p.m. at 162 Griffith Park, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an alert. That address corresponds to a location just below Griffith Observatory.
“1/2 acre light grass burning into medium brush on slope. Firefighters on scene are working to quickly contain the flames,” fire officials said.
By about 1:30 p.m., aerial footage from Sky5 showed the flames were mostly under control.
In an update, fire officials said the blaze was extinguished in 31 minutes and never grew above a quarter acre.
“All threatened structures were successfully defended and undamaged,” an update said.
The Los Angeles Police Department later said that a witness spotted a young man had lit a fire in the 2700 block of Glendower Avenue and left.
Officers arrested that man, apparently a transient, and took him to a station. His identity has not been released.
Footage shared with KTLA showed the apparent suspect being loaded into the back of a patrol vehicle.
