Investigators in California have released images of the man who allegedly set fire to a stretch of one of Los Angeles’ busiest highways and caused traffic chaos in the City of Angels last week.
In the images released by the state fire department, the suspect can be seen near the highway at 12:31 a.m. on November 11, about 30 minutes after the fire broke out.
He wears blue shorts, a black jacket, a green scarf and a black backpack. He is between 30 and 35 years old.
The suspect is wearing a knee brace on his leg and there appear to be burns on his other leg. Anyone with information is asked to call the California State Fire Marshal’s Arson and Bomb Unit at 8000-468-4408.
After the fire was extinguished, authorities quickly ruled it arson as the cause, along with Gov. Gavin Newsom, told the media that “malicious intent was present.”
This is the suspect in the arson attack that occurred last week along one of the busiest highways in Los Angeles
Authorities said the suspect appeared to have burn marks on one of his legs
An estimated 300,000 vehicles per day use the highway, which runs east-west through the heart of the metropolis and is connected to other major highways.
While investigators are not saying how the fire was started, the fire was fueled by pallets, cars, construction materials, hand sanitizer and other items stored under the highway as part of a little-known program that is currently under investigation.
The storage of the combustible materials violated the company’s lease agreement.
The highway reopened ahead of schedule on Nov. 20 after a mile-long stretch was closed because of the inferno and traffic increased as repair crews worked around the clock.
Officials had said last week that all lanes were expected to reopen by Tuesday, but pushed that back to Monday after significant progress.
Newsom said recent safety inspections showed it was safe to reopen the section Sunday evening and that the highway would be “fully operational” before Monday’s rush hour.
“We weren’t just about speed.” “We wanted to make sure this thing was safe,” Newsom said at a news conference attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass .
On Friday evening a fire broke out in a pallet warehouse under the street. It’s unclear how it started
The fire spread to a second pallet yard and forced people to flee a nearby homeless camp
Officials had originally said it could take about 250 workers between three and five weeks to shore up the bridge after the fire burned about 100 support columns.
“This is a great day in our city,” Bass said Sunday. “Let me thank everyone who worked for 24 hours to make this effort possible.”
There will be periodic closures in the coming weeks or months as repairs continue, officials said. Padilla estimated the initial repairs, expected to be funded by federal funds, would cost $3 million.
State investigators repeatedly found fire and safety hazards in a rented storage unit under an elevated freeway in Los Angeles before it burned in the fire, documents show.
Newsom said the state would reconsider the practice of leasing land under roads to generate money for mass transit projects.
Apex Development Inc. has leased the land under I-10 since 2008.
Although a condition of the contract stated that storage of flammable or hazardous materials would not be permitted there, state inspectors have visited the site six times since early 2020 and flagged problematic conditions for years.
“This is a dirty, unkempt lease,” inspector Daryl Myatt wrote in a 2022 report after a surprise inspection discovered solvents, oils, fuels and other items excluded from the agreement. “This area has been used since the mid-1970s and looks like this.”
The owners of two of the businesses that sublet the property said they also warned about the fire risk and other dangers associated with homeless people living under the highway.
Governor Gavin Newsom, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, announces the highway’s reopening
Crews are working to extinguish the fire under Interstate 10 and begin repairing the damage
Newsom previously said that while subleasing can be legal if the company has received permission from state and federal regulators, Apex is not.
In September, state officials filed a lawsuit against Apex, claiming the company owed $78,000 in unpaid rent. A hearing is scheduled next year.
The state’s most recent spot inspection, a little more than a month before the Nov. 11 fire, found “numerous lease violations,” but documents released Friday did not provide further details.
Caltrans has “informed Apex Development of the need to address violations, particularly those that pose safety risks,” the agency said in a statement.
Mainak D’Attaray, a lawyer for Apex Development, said on Wednesday that the company was not responsible for the fire, adding that the company had not had access to the premises since October.
“Apex leased and modernized the dilapidated shipyard and made significant capital investments during the period it owned the shipyard,” D’Attaray’s statement continued. “Caltrans inspected the premises regularly, at least once a year, and CalTrans was fully aware of the subtenants and their activities. Even the California State Fire Department inspected the premises.”
D’Attaray did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Izzy Gordon, a spokesman for the governor, contradicted D’Attaray’s statement earlier this week that Apex was not at fault. Gordon said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) believes the arson occurred “in a fenced area that Apex was responsible for maintaining while they continued to exercise rights under the lease.”
Brandon Richards, another Newsom spokesman, reiterated the governor’s directive to Caltrans to conduct a comprehensive review of all leased sites along the state’s highways. Richards did not address whether anyone at Caltrans faces disciplinary action.
No injuries were reported in the fire, but at least 16 homeless people living in a camp there were taken to emergency shelters.