The Daily News of Los Angeles
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Firefighters responding to three related blazes next to freeway ramps in Mission Hills found a dead body in a homeless encampment at the scene Wednesday morning.
The first fire was initially reported at 10:38 a.m. at the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway entrance at Devonshire Street, said Shawn Lenske, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The blaze, which began at a homeless encampment, crossed over the freeway to the northbound side of the freeway, sparking two more spot fires.
“The embers literally just floated across the freeway and started the other two fires,” said LAFD spokesman Matt Spence.
A burned body was found at the scene of the second fire - another homeless encampment within tall brush in a freeway cloverleaf on the northbound freeway entrance.
The cause of the fires and the cause of the death are under investigation, Lenske said. No details were available about the age or gender of the deceased. An arson investigator was on scene Wednesday afternoon.
The fires were knocked down in a little more than an hour with 80 firefighters responding.
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