Ground Report

A teen playing with matches has confessed to starting a wildfire that destroyed more than 50 structures near Los Angeles, officials said on Tuesday. The un-named youngster, believed to be a pre-teen, was questioned by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators on Oct 22, a day after the Buckweed fire started raging across 15,000 hectares in the Santa Clarita area, 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. "The boy confessed that he had been playing with matches", said sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. It was previously assumed that downed cables started the fire.The boy was sent back home after the interrogation, and the Attorney’s office will make the final decision whether to press charges. The Buckweed fire was one of about two-dozen conflagrations that ravaged southern California last week, destroying 2,300 buildings, according to the California Office of Emergency Services. The fires have been responsible for a dozen deaths and 78 injuries.