1 dead after vegetation fire erupts near gas station in Granada Hills

GRANADA HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- One person was killed in a vegetation fire that broke out Tuesday morning near a gas station in Granada Hills, authorities said.

The deceased person was identified only as a female. Her body was found near a wall separating a homeless encampment from a building at the gas station.

The dramatic blaze erupted about 10:30 a.m. in the 17000 block of Rinaldi Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Twenty-six firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the flames in 11 minutes.

Arson investigators launched an investigation after being summoned to the location.

According to the fire department, the fire began in the homeless encampment surrounded by "medium to thick brush" near the 118 Freeway's Balboa Boulevard offramp.

The flames spread to the gas station but were knocked down before they reached the inside of the business's market and gas pumps.