Another suspicious fire puts police on high alert in North Hollywood; serial arsonist sought

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Authorities are searching for a serial arsonist in North Hollywood who may have struck again Friday night after a shed was set ablaze.

A call came in around 9:15 p.m. regarding a shed on fire in the 11300 block of Kittridge Avenue. The shed was next to Tito's Nursery and Birds.

Authorities said someone appeared to have poured accelerant, lit it and took off from the scene. Witnesses told police they saw someone set it.

"Somebody passed by and they saw what was going on. Someone brought a canister and poured the gasoline and burned it...so we are lucky that they called and help came fast," Ashot Heboyan said.

The suspect is possibly a man who was wearing dark clothes, a hooded sweatshirt and dark pants, and who fled in a silver or gray vehicle, possibly a Lexus.

The charred shed is the 10th fire to be set within a 2-mile radius over the last month in the area. Within the 2-mile radius, four separate fires that appeared suspicious erupted Thursday morning.

One of those fires burned trees dangerously close to a home and destroyed vehicles. In another one of those blazes, at least three cars were destroyed.

Surveillance video from a neighbor in the area showed what appeared to be a suspect on a bike setting something on fire and tossing it.

In late-September, five fires were set within the radius that were also deemed suspicious.

While authorities are unclear if Friday night's fire is connected to all the other blazes, police are on high alert.