What to Know: The Suspected Arson Arrest Near Kenneth Fire

A man was arrested on suspicion of arson Thursday afternoon in Woodland Hills near the Kenneth Fire, which started earlier in the afternoon.

On X (formerly Twitter), the official account of the Los Angeles Police Department’s public information officer announced: “At 4:32 p.m., a radio call was generated in the 21700 block of Ybarra Road for a possible arson suspect. A man was heard saying the suspect was ‘trying to start a fire.’ The suspect is in custody and has been transported to the Topanga station.”

Ybarra Road is located in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, near the western San Fernando Valley, where the Kenneth Fire continues to burn.

According to a local news station KTLAcitizens in the area detained the suspect until the police arrived.

“What we know now is that the incident happened here and about 20 to 30 minutes later, the citizens took the suspect into custody,” Sean Dinse of the LAPD’s Topanga Division told KTLA.

In an update on social networks publishThe LAPD PIO stated that he could not confirm that the arsonist was connected to the Kenneth Fire.

The LAPD had no further updates to share when contacted by TIME.

ua press conference Thursday night, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said the Kenneth Fire “shows that we are absolutely not out of this extreme weather event.”

At least 10 people have died in the fires raging through Los Angeles County, as of the January 9 update from the Los Angeles County medical examiner, with officials cautioning that the actual toll won’t be clear until investigators can safely access the damaged areas.

The Kenneth Fire quickly spread to 1,000 hectares within hours. From 6 am on January 10the fire is on 960 hectares, with 35% contained. Evacuation warnings are currently in effect for Vanowen south to Burbank Boulevard and County Lane Road east to E. Valley Circle Boulevard, although mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted.

But things can change quickly as “challenging terrain and persistent winds complicate containment activities,” according to Cal Fire. Citizens are advised to be careful.