GUILTY CA - Harry Burkhart charged in Hollywood arson spree, 2011

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katydid23 said:
Is that tenant escaping using a walker? Wow. That could have been a deadly incident if the firemen were not there on time.

This apt. has the cars parked right underneath in the carport. That is just like my daughter's best friends apt. in West Hollywood. She is now staying at my daughter's apt. in Santa Monica because she is too worried about a fire starting underneath their bedrooms. This whole thing is really frightening. And I am worried that it is copycats carrying it out now. :eek:
Click to expand...

I think that's a birdcage thingy. However, I've seen plenty of other pics on the net where people in wheelchairs and such needed assistance getting out.

I grew up in the Valley and IMO, it's pure luck that someone hasn't died so far. Especially since like you pointed out, the bedrooms are right above these fires. So frightening.
 
Hollywood-area arson fires: Worst in LA in 20 years
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8486697

Los Angeles City Fire Capt. Jaime Moore said investigators are returning to every single incident to review similarities and gather as much information as they can.
Fire officials confirmed as many as six new fires in or around the Hollywood or West Hollywood areas on Saturday night, starting shortly before 6 p.m. That brings the total to 40 reported fires spanning from early Friday morning to late Saturday night - 19 on Saturday and 21 on Friday
Click to expand...
 
I just had a flash back to a very old case where a man was turned down several times because he did not score well on the tests to become a fireman, and also had some mental issues that would have been enough alone to not qualify him.

I'm not believing too much into the copycat theme, although one or two may be, I think this is a very disturbed, middle age man, who either has a gripe with the city politicians and or FD. He'll be of above average IQ, and most likely have some sort of either LE school, or military background. He is probably more of a loner type individual with few friends, single / divorced or widowed. He'll have a good education and is very vocal about his political views.

Neigbours will say he was a very quiet person and not one to socialize. If he was in the military he most likely had a dishonourable discharge.
I also suspect he will soon taunt police via MSM or letters that sound more like the rant of a madman than a confession. No I'm not a professional profiler, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once.
 
I don't know the Cali area...is Burbank near where these fires are? My son recently moved there. He's enroute to Cali now. Sheesh. What a nightmare. Whomever is responsible needs to be jailed for life...no parole. If anyone dies roll out the DP. No one should have to live in fear of being burned to death in the U. S. My prayers are with everyone living with this threat.
 
Reality Orlando said:
I don't know the Cali area...is Burbank near where these fires are? My son recently moved there. He's enroute to Cali now. Sheesh. What a nightmare. Whomever is responsible needs to be jailed for life...no parole. If anyone dies roll at the DP. No one should have to live in fear of being burned to death in the U. S. My prayers are with everyone living with this threat.
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Yes, sadly, it is in the area. But so far none have been set in Burbank. My husband works in Burbank and his friends there are pretty nervous because it is just minutes away. It is just on the other side of the 5 fwy.
 
katydid23 said:
Yes, sadly, it is in the area. But so far none have been set in Burbank. My husband works in Burbank and his friends there are pretty nervous because it is just minutes away. It is just on the other side of the 5 fwy.
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Katydid23...if you hear anything, please let me know! It stinks being so far away when stuff like this happens!
 
Last night "New Year's Eve" while our restaurant was sold out to standing room only and with our patio fully booked for a private wedding rehearsal dinner, someone lit the commercial trash container behind our patio.

There were discarded Christmas trees in this container. I was not there, but my husband said the flames reached two stories high.

Fortunately, a man showed up with a hose and extinguished it. HOWEVER, that created dense black smoke and our customers (specially those on the patio) started panicking.

That could have been a very bad scene, as there is just a single door to exit the wrought iron patio area, and one other single door which goes into the restaurant (which as I said, was packed to the gills).

Unfortunately, there is no camera survellance in the back of our restaurant, and it is very dark back there. So, how the police or fire dept. can catch this person is beyond me.

Anyway, will be sending correspondence to our landlord Monday AM-to request immediate installation of cameras and signage stating there are cameras there.

Sincerely,
Dee
 
Lot's of WHAT if's running around my head this morning.

I have already e-mailed our landlord asking for immediate cameras and signs and lights.

HAGD,
Dee
 
I used to live in West Hollywood (Flores Street and Fountain), and I can tell you that this is a HIGHLY populated area with people coming and going at all hours of the day. It would be very possible for someone to start fires even though people are around; well, the Laurel Canyon area isn't as busy as WeHo, but the areas where these fires have been set are very busy and there are always people milling about. It is a miracle that people haven't been hurt, and I pray that things stay this way.

I don't know much about pyrotechnics,fires and arson, but does anyone know if it's possible to ignite a fire by remote control? I know it's highly unlikely, but I wonder if the owners of the cars that have been burned have recently taken their cars to the car wash or oil change shop? Is it possible that someone put something under these cars and then ignited it from a different location? Maybe that's a little far-fetched, but it's odd that since this news has broken, more fires have occurred, even now that people are being more vigilant in looking out for anything out of the ordinary.

I also wonder if this is someone whose presence wouldn't arouse suspicion-some sort of repair person, city maintenance worker, or (I hate to say it) a firefighter? WeHo is it's own independent city/county island, so it would be serviced by LA county officials-sheriff, fire; and a different electrical company than the rest of LA. North Hollywood is part of the City of Los Angeles, so their services would be provided by LAPD, DWP, etc (I'm not sure about their fire department). If there's a way to get footage of the streets shortly before the fires broke out, it might be possible that we would see some sort of official vehicle at each of the sites.
 
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...la-arson-fires-being-kept-secret-for-now.html
"Law enforcement sources told The Times that detectives were concerned that releasing more information could prompt the arsonist or arsonists to change tactics and encourage copycats.

The sources said there was evidence connecting most of the fires. But investigators don't want to say what kind of fuel or ignition device was used, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of annoymity because the case was still ongoing"
 
I am worried that he is going to expand or change his territory. I think people in Hollywood areas are being very vigilant. My daughter's friend's neighborhood just had a large neighborhood watch meeting and they have their area being manned by volunteers 24/7 right now. It is near Fountain and Santa Monica so there are a lot of carports in the area. They are very worried about people being trapped in their homes at night.
[Their main goal is to wake up any residents in case of the fire. It is not to try and 'stop' the arsonist. ]
I think this guy is going to move to the Westside or even up to Ventura or down to Orange County.
 
I was extremely concerned about my son's location on Sweetzer in WeHo behind City Hall yesterday- couldn't decide if it was a safe location or a target location.
I suppose I got the answer to that question the hard way. This arsonist(s)has no boundaries.
I also think that since the areas hit are densely populated-it makes it even tougher to spot suspect activity- because there is so MUCH activity already in these areas.
When I visit my son- we walk out the door and we can walk to all kinds of places to eat, drink and be entertained. People are on the street walking around at all hours of the night and day. One would have to really be looking in a lot of places to catch this activity.
 
la-arson-fires05.jpg

FWIW,my son is in this picture with other residents and room mates in front of his housing complex on Sweetzer.
http://framework.latimes.com/2011/12/30/hollywood-arson-fires/#/4

City Hall is immediately next door to the right and Hamburger Mary's is right on the corner.
 
marie-chantal said:
I used to live in West Hollywood (Flores Street and Fountain), and I can tell you that this is a HIGHLY populated area with people coming and going at all hours of the day. It would be very possible for someone to start fires even though people are around; well, the Laurel Canyon area isn't as busy as WeHo, but the areas where these fires have been set are very busy and there are always people milling about. It is a miracle that people haven't been hurt, and I pray that things stay this way.

I don't know much about pyrotechnics,fires and arson, but does anyone know if it's possible to ignite a fire by remote control? I know it's highly unlikely, but I wonder if the owners of the cars that have been burned have recently taken their cars to the car wash or oil change shop? Is it possible that someone put something under these cars and then ignited it from a different location? Maybe that's a little far-fetched, but it's odd that since this news has broken, more fires have occurred, even now that people are being more vigilant in looking out for anything out of the ordinary.

I also wonder if this is someone whose presence wouldn't arouse suspicion-some sort of repair person, city maintenance worker, or (I hate to say it) a firefighter? WeHo is it's own independent city/county island, so it would be serviced by LA county officials-sheriff, fire; and a different electrical company than the rest of LA. North Hollywood is part of the City of Los Angeles, so their services would be provided by LAPD, DWP, etc (I'm not sure about their fire department). If there's a way to get footage of the streets shortly before the fires broke out, it might be possible that we would see some sort of official vehicle at each of the sites.
Click to expand...

If those are fires then I think it's very unlikely they are set up by remote control. Explosions would be another story.
 
Anakerie said:
The google map has been updated;

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid...118.380883&spn=0.161053,0.045276&source=embed

Remember though, this is NOT an "official" incident map...
Click to expand...

There is an entire series right by my house, maybe 0.75 miles away..."Toluca Woods" area (not where I live). There is also a series very, very close to where I lived in 1990-94, in an apartment directly over the carport. That was a very crowded, poor area, and prone to a lot of violence and gang activity.

I will be taking certain preparedness actions for tonight...I've also changed all the batteries in the smoke detectors, added two to the property (I was going to use them to change out this year...but shoot, I'll use them now). I have repositioned the hoses at spigots next to the house. And the cars will be in the garage, which is detached. But the biggest concern by far is the alley next to my house...lots of trees, some deadwood in them. If that goes, it's game on, you know?

I am have some concern. Not huge, but some. I am looking at the map, and it's a very straight line on the map, but what the map doesn't show is a series of hills (the Hollywood sign hill), which splits Los Angeles from the San Fernando Valley.

There is a freeway which runs parallel to the general fire line, and goes through the hills, and is a major connector between the two areas. I'm wondering if they're not traveling the freeway, and just getting off, setting fires, and then getting back on. It's a bit too much for a bicycle, and a wayyy hard ride over the hill.

I'm going to finish reading the thread, and if I have more comments, I'll post. Reality O, your son should be fine...

Best-
Herding Cats
 
Anyone know what type of cars have been set on fire? Are there similarities: make/model/color/year/type of bumper stickers? West Hollywood is known as "Boystown" because it is home to a large amount of gay bars. It is also home to a very high percentage of Russian immigrants. My husband's first thought was that this might be a hate-crime. West Hollywood is also home to the Sunset Strip.

Laurel Canyon and North Hollywood, however, are different types of neighborhoods. Laurel Canyon has a history of being a more bohemian neighborhood, favored by rock stars in the 60s and 70s. It's part of the Hollywood Hills, and has very expensive real estate. North Hollywood is far less glamorous than West Hollywood and Laurel Canyon. It's more of a typical middle-class Valley suburb. I can't think of anything that North Hollywood is "known for" (i.e. population demographics, types of businesses, real estate, etc). I wonder if the arsonist(s) live in North Hollywood? It's an easy drive from NoHo to WeHo, and Laurel Canyon is in between the two towns.

I think I need to go back and look at pictures of the crime scenes. There are likely similarities other than just the location.
 
marie-chantal said:
Anyone know what type of cars have been set on fire? Are there similarities: make/model/color/year/type of bumper stickers? West Hollywood is known as "Boystown" because it is home to a large amount of gay bars. It is also home to a very high percentage of Russian immigrants. My husband's first thought was that this might be a hate-crime. West Hollywood is also home to the Sunset Strip.

Laurel Canyon and North Hollywood, however, are different types of neighborhoods. Laurel Canyon has a history of being a more bohemian neighborhood, favored by rock stars in the 60s and 70s. It's part of the Hollywood Hills, and has very expensive real estate. North Hollywood is far less glamorous than West Hollywood and Laurel Canyon. It's more of a typical middle-class Valley suburb. I can't think of anything that North Hollywood is "known for" (i.e. population demographics, types of businesses, real estate, etc). I wonder if the arsonist(s) live in North Hollywood? It's an easy drive from NoHo to WeHo, and Laurel Canyon is in between the two towns.

I think I need to go back and look at pictures of the crime scenes. There are likely similarities other than just the location.
Click to expand...

The only similarity i can see so far is that the chosen areas are all areas that are big with the Entertainment Industry. It makes me wonder if he is a disgruntled film or tv employee. Someone who was rejected by the 'business.' West Hollywood, Hollywood and North Hollywood, all built upon the industry. imoo
 
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