3 Arrested After 15-Acre Brush Fire

VAL VERDE — An 18-year-old man and two minors were arrested Saturday on suspicion of arson after they allegedly started a grass fire that charred 15 acres by setting off fireworks.

Andrew Davis, 18, was booked at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Santa Clarita station and was being held on $10,000 bail, said Deputy Bob Killeen, a spokesman for the department. The two youths--ages 11 and 15--were booked and released to their parents.

All three are Castaic residents, authorities said.

The fire broke out about 12:20 p.m. in an open field west of the Golden State Freeway and north of Hasley Canyon Road, authorities said.

No injuries or property damage were reported, according to Capt. Rod Washington, a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman, who said the blaze was contained by 3:30 p.m.

The fire forced the temporary shutdown of The Old Road--which runs parallel to the freeway--between Parker Road in Castaic and Hasley Canyon Road north of Santa Clarita, said California Highway Patrol Officer Karen Faciane.

At the Sheriff’s Department’s Pitchess Detention Center--not far from the fire--visiting hours were temporarily canceled, Killeen said. The 1,400 inmates at the jail’s South Facility were under lock-down until the fire was put out.

The blaze was the second of two wildfires in the area in as many days.

On Friday night, a wildfire scorched 10 acres near Del Valle and Hasley Canyon roads near the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, said Art Marrujo, a county fire dispatcher. There were no injuries or property damage reported, he said.

Firefighters fought the flames in a rocky region for about half an hour before bringing it under control, Marrujo said.

The cause of the fire, which broke out at 10:15 p.m., remained under investigation late Saturday, Marrujo said.