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Arson Investigation Into Station Fire Yielding Little Evidence

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Photo by unsure shot/LAist Featured Photos on Flickr

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The Station Fire began on August 26th along the roadside in the Angeles National Forest above the community of La Cañada-Flintridge, and soon after its fiery grip held the city in its clutches, authorities deemed the start point a crime scene and launched an arson investigation. But so far there isn't much to stoke the embers of the case, as it were, thanks to a lack of information about the incident. It's been almost 3 months now, and "investigators say they don't have the necessary evidence to arrest anyone for setting the fatal fire," that took the lives of 2 firefighters and burned 160,577 acres, according to LA Now. One person of interest, 25-year-old transient Babatunsin Olukunle, "told [investigators] nothing of relevance in connection with the Station fire."

These cases, however, are typically challenging to work through. "Arson wildfires are among the most difficult cases to prove, especially when there is a lack of eyewitnesses in an area and the point of origin has been repeatedly burned over," lead investigator Lt. Liam Gallagher said.

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