Arsonist At Large After Torching Leasing Office For Lake Forest Apartment Complex
LAKE FOREST (CBSLA) – Authorities are searching for a man who set fire to the leasing office of a Lake Forest apartment complex early Tuesday morning.
The suspect set fire to a leasing office in the 20700 block of El Toro Road, the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) reported Wednesday, located just 50 feet from several apartments.
He was caught on security video pouring an accelerant on the exterior of the building and then setting fire to it.
"His activity when he approaches the front of the office was very direct in a way that he applies the liquid," Arson Investigator Capt. Shaun Miller said in a noon press conference.
"He doesn't seem overly concerned with his environment, the things around him. The acts are very specific, so it leads us to believe he is very familiar with the area," Miller said.
Renters said they were sleeping when the fire started and only knew about it thanks to deputies who pounded on their doors.
"It was just really hot and just terrifying," said resident Amber Jergensen who lives less than 20 feet from where the suspect lit the fire. "There are families and people that live here so this is people's livelihood. It's just a really terrible thing that happened."
The building sustained $100,000 in damage before crews extinguished the flames, OCFA said. Firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to the nearby apartment buildings. There was no report of any injuries.
A yellow Labrador Retriever named Freedom who is trained to sniff out accelerants hit on several spots according to his handler.
The suspect was described as white, between 5-foot-9 and 6 feet tall, weighing 150 to 180 pounds.
In 2016, an arsonist torched a different leasing office in the same south Orange County city less than four miles away. Officials don't believe the two arson cases are related.
CBSLA's Michele Gile spotted an eviction notice taped to an apartment door dated January 14, the same day the fire was lit.
Investigators said they are aware of the notice and were looking into it.
