A Hollywood house fire that killed two sisters last week, one in her 70s and the other in her 80s, was being investigated Wednesday as a case of arson.
Los Angeles Fire Department crews responded at 2:55 a.m. on Feb. 4 to a single-family home at 1760 N. Vista Del Mar Ave., south of the Hollywood (101) Freeway, where they knocked down enough flames to make entry and perform a search.
During that search, firefighters found the victims and pulled them from the home, LAFD spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz said.
One of them, Maria Alarcon Vazquez, 76, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Office of Medical Examiner. The other sister, Yolanda Honda, 82, was revived in an ambulance but died on Sunday, according to the coroner’s office, which ruled her death a homicide.
It took 43 firefighters 19 minutes to extinguish the flames. Members of the LAFD’s Arson Section were called to the scene to conduct an investigation of the fire.
According to ABC7, a police official announced the arson finding during Tuesday’s Los Angeles Police Commission meeting.
“Further investigation revealed that multiple additional fires were reported in close proximity during the same early morning time period, as well as a similar fire reported in the area in late January,” the official said.
A GoFundMe page launched on the women’s behalf said that Honda was her sister’s caretaker after she had hip surgery and that she had emerged from the home only go back inside to save her sibling.
The page also said Vasquez’s dog, Coco, has remained missing since the fire.
A spokesman at the LAPD’s Media Relations Section said he had no information about the investigation and was unable to confirm what was disclosed at the Police Commission meeting.