[symple_googlemap title=”Arsonist arrest Newhall fire” location=” Fourth and Race streets, Newhall, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”16″]
A man was arrested Sunday after witnesses told deputies he used a cigarette lighter to set brush on fire in the Newhall area of Santa Clarita, authorities said.
It happened about 5 p.m. at Fourth and Race streets, Los Angeles County Department Sgt. Brian Shreves said.
The suspect — 51-year-old Hector Gayton — was first detained then arrested after deputies investigated further, Shreves said.
Los Angeles County firefighters put out the blaze … which had grown to about 2,500 square feet, he said.
Gayton was being held on $75,000 bail, according to sheriff’s inmate records. An initial court appearance was set for Tuesday.
—City News Service