Woman arrested in connection to suspicious Sherman Oaks fire; possibly linked to others, police say
According to police, the woman, who has not been identified, suffers from a mental illness.
SHERMAN OAKS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A woman was arrested in connection to a suspicious house fire in Sherman Oaks, and authorities believe she may be responsible for a dozen other overnight fires in the area.
According to police, the woman, who has not been identified, suffers from a mental illness. She was arrested in connection to a fire that broke out around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday at a home on Nagle Avenue.
Several other debris and vegetation fires broke out in the area around the same time, including one at a flower shop on Ventura Boulevard and others along Riverside Drive.
Authorities believe the woman is connected to about a dozen fires in the Sherman Oaks area set overnight.
The owner of the home says he and his family were asleep when the fire broke out but they were able to escape safely.
Local resident Xander Track and his father worked to try to contain the flames at the flower shop until firefighters arrived.
"I just started trying to contain it and stop it from getting over to the next building," he recalled. "It started spreading quick but I contained it from getting into the salon. And then the fire department got here, came out with the big hose."
Investigators believe the woman may also be the same person who rammed a car into some Los Feliz businesses over the weekend.
