Series of fires set within blocks of each other in the San Fernando Valley
LOS ANGELES - Authorities are looking into whether several fires set overnight within blocks of each other in the San Fernando Valley are connected. The first fire was reported around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday on the shoulder of the 405 Freeway in Van Nuys, just feet from the roadway. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, [...]
LOS ANGELES - Authorities are looking into whether several fires set overnight within blocks of each other in the San Fernando Valley are connected.
The first fire was reported around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday on the shoulder of the 405 Freeway in Van Nuys, just feet from the roadway.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, firefighters were able to extinguish the fire with no injuries or structures threatened, but it proved only to be the first of multiple incidents.
The second fire of the night occurred at an apartment building on Kester Avenue at approximately 10:32 p.m.
Flames were seen ripping through five cars in a carport in the rear of the building and spreading to the apartments as residents quickly evacuated.
LAFD later stated that two apartment units sustained broken windows, and electrical panels on two of the exposed buildings were damaged by the flames. No injuries were reported, and the fire was extinguished in about 45 minutes.
A fire burns in a carport behind a Sherman Oaks apartment building on Dec. 18, 2024. (RMGNews) 
A fire burns in a carport behind a Sherman Oaks apartment building on Dec. 18, 2024. (RMGNews) 
A fire burns in a carport behind a Sherman Oaks apartment building on Dec. 18, 2024. (RMGNews) 
Residents evacuate as a fire burns in a carport behind a Sherman Oaks apartment building on Dec. 18, 2024. (RMGNews)
About an hour later, a third fire was reported in Sherman Oaks; this blaze was initially deemed a trash fire but was quickly upgraded to a structure fire, according to preliminary information from the scene.
Video obtained by KTLA shows flames and smoke coming from a large garbage compactor behind the World Market located at 15201 Ventura Boulevard.
It is believed no one was injured in this incident.
Crews battle a trash fire that was later upgraded to a structure fire in Sherman Oaks on Dec. 17, 2024. (RMGNews) 
Crews battle a trash fire that was later upgraded to a structure fire in Sherman Oaks on Dec. 17, 2024. (RMGNews) 
Crews battle a trash fire that was later upgraded to a structure fire in Sherman Oaks on Dec. 17, 2024. (RMGNews) 
Crews battle a trash fire that was later upgraded to a structure fire in Sherman Oaks on Dec. 17, 2024. (RMGNews)
Crews were dispatched to the final fire, also in Sherman Oaks, around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday.
The blaze started in the converted garage of a reportedly vacant home in the 4600 block of Columbus Avenue.
The fire was knocked down in approximately ten minutes before it could spread to neighboring homes, according to initial information from the scene.
LAFD officials did not immediately have information surrounding the third and fourth fires.
The causes of each fire remain under investigation.
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