A 52-year-old transient was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of intentionally setting a small brush fire in the hills above Burbank that led to some voluntary evacuations.
Officers responded to a hillside above Palm Park in the 1100 block of East Orange Grove around 9 a.m. Tuesday to reports of a suspicious person loitering in a prohibited area, according to the Burbank Police Department.
With the help of a drone, police found the suspect hiding in an area of thick brush, police said. As officers attempted to coax the suspect out of the area, he began setting the hillside on fire.
The fire burned less than five acres of vegetation, but it prompted some evacuation warnings for residents along Country Club Drive. The fire’s forward progress was halted by about 11:30 a.m., with no injuries or structural damage reported, and the evacuation warnings were lifted.
The suspect, identified as Daniel Aguilar, was arrested after a brief struggle, police said. He was booked on suspicion of arson and resisting arrest, and was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail.