Federal investigators have concluded that the massive fire that obliterated a high end downtown apartment complex under construction was deliberately set.
Investigators dug through rubble left by the fire, sometimes wading in deep rainwater during storms that followed the blaze, and collected samples from suspected points of origin.
The fire broke out in the middle of the night and virtually decimated a seven-story building of the high end Da Vinci apartment complex. The blaze caused extensive damage to the nearby 110 Freeway and Los Angeles government owned buildings. Total damage was estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.
Officials mentioned previously that arson was the probably cause because of how quickly the building appeared to catch fire. Despite the fact that a fire station was about two hundred yards away, over half of the complex was already burning by the time firefighters first received word, at 1:09 a.m.
Authorities announced earlier this week that they were on the lookout for two potential witnesses that were present at or near the scene of the blaze. One captured on a surveillance video walking leisurely down the street before the onset of the fire.
The second suspect was recorded on freelance video footage after the fire has caught ablaze and appears to be trying to get through a construction fence and into a burning building.
Investigators have yet to identify either of the men but stress that they are not suspects or persons of interest. They are “purely someone we are seeking to interview as an investigative lead,” authorities said.
Image source: Daily Digest
