As wildfires burn, arson reports are rising in Los Angeles
In the wake of the devastating Palisades and Eaton wildfires, a disturbing realization is emerging: Incidents of arson are on the rise.
Neither of those blazes appear to have been intentionally set, but many others are. In 2024, there were 606 reported arson crimes in Los Angeles County areas patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department, according to an LASD dashboard. (The department covers unincorporated parts of the county, and contracts to provide law enforcement services in small cities that lack their own police department; cities with a police department, such as Los Angeles, compile their data separately.) That is six more than in the previous year and marks the highest annual count in at least a decade. It also represents a 36% increase since 2014, when 445 arson incidents were reported in LASD territory.
There was a notable uptick in arson incidents toward the end of last year, when dry conditions heightened the risk of fire spread. The final three months of 2024 each produced more than 60 arson reports. By comparison, the count in September was 45.
There has been a recent wave of incidents. A citizen’s arrest brought a suspected arsonist into custody after the outbreak of the Kenneth Fire. On Jan. 11, 37-year-old James Mota allegedly tried to start a fire in the back of a warehouse in the City of Industry; bushes and stacks of pallets were soon in flames.
The following day, Ruben Montes, 27, allegedly attempted to start a fire under the 605 Freeway in Irwindale.
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Neither of the latter two blazes did extensive damage. Mota and Montes were both arrested and have been charged with arson by L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Since the regional wildfires began on Jan. 7, Hochman’s office has filed arson-related charges against 10 individuals.
“We’ve done our best to send a warning to all the people who are even thinking of doing this conduct,” Hochman told Crosstown. “Their acts are despicable.”
Troubled areas
Last year, there were 88 arson incidents in territory patrolled by the LASD’s Compton station, more than any other LASD area. The station covers cities and communities including Compton, Gardena and Rosewood. However, Compton station’s arson count decreased 22% from 2023.
The second highest count last year was the 84 reports in the Century Station, which covers areas including Florence, Willowbrook and the city of Lynwood.
Arson has also historically been a problem in the city of Los Angeles, with more than 400 annual reports nearly every year from 2016–2023, according to publicly available LAPD data. The peak was the 665 reports in 2020 (a count for 2024 is unreliable due to a change in how the city publicly registers and reports crime data).
The city also tracks arson arrests, which have declined in recent years. There were 179 arrests in 2024, according to LAPD data (unlike crime figures, publicly available arrest data is up to date). That is down 8.2% from 2023, but arson arrests did rise at the end of the year, similar to the county trend.
The recent peak was the 221 arrests in 2021.
Downtown has long recorded more arson incidents than any other neighborhood in the city. From 2020–2023, there were 258 reports in the community, accounting for more than 10% of the citywide total. That has frequently been attributed to crimes either among or targeting people experiencing homelessness in Skid Row. This includes disputes leading to tents being intentionally set on fire.
Knowing the suspect
Ed Nordskog, a 35-year arson and bomb detective for the LASD, who now works as a cold case consultant, said many fires Downtown and in South L.A. are started in cars and are classified as vehicle arson.
Nordskog said the increase in arson has run parallel with the rise in homelessness in the city and county. He believes official figures are an undercount, due to factors such as poor coordination between law enforcement agencies and fire departments, and that some unhoused arson victims may not report the crime.
“Arson is very common in big cities, but it’s like murder—murder is mostly personal,” Nordskog said. “The victims know the suspects if it’s a true act of arson.”
Other city neighborhoods with high arson counts from 2020–2023 include Hollywood, with 99 reports, and Westlake, with 98 incidents.
According to LAPD data, men are most likely to be arrested for arson; males accounted for 77% of the arrests in 2024.
While the arson numbers are disconcerting, especially in the wake of the wildfires, the situation may be getting worse. According to LAPD data, there were 26 arson arrests in the city in January. That’s an 85% increase from the same month in 2023 and equals the highest monthly count going back to 2020.
Hochman said those starting fires during these months of mourning and rebuilding will bear the full weight of his office’s prosecutorial powers.
“It’s never the time to commit this type of crime, but it is really not the time to commit this crime,” Hochman said. “People will be arrested, prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law. That’s not a threat, but a promise.”
How we did it: We examined LASD crime statistics from 2015-2024, publicly available LAPD crime data from 2016-2023, and publicly available LAPD arrest data from 2016–Jan. 1, 2025. For neighborhood boundaries, we rely on the borders defined by the Los Angeles Times. Law enforcement agencies may update past service requests with new information, or recategorize past reports. Those revised reports do not always automatically become part of the public database.
Have questions about our data or want to know more? Write to us at askus@xtown.la.
