LOS ANGELES _ The fire that destroyed six homes and damaged a dozen others in L.A.'s Bel-Air neighborhood last week was caused by a cooking fire at a nearby homeless encampment, Los Angeles fire officials said Tuesday.
For a "number of years," homeless people had been living in a camp along Sepulveda Boulevard where it passes under the 405 Freeway, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Peter Sanders said.
Investigators who inspected the encampment found evidence that people had been cooking and sleeping in the area but did not find anyone there, Sanders said. The department has no suspects, he said.
The National Park Service estimates that 90 percent of wildfires across the U.S. are caused by humans.
The Skirball fire erupted early on Dec. 6, eating down the chaparral-covered hillsides next to the 405, forcing the closure of the important artery at rush hour.
In less than a day, the blaze ate through more than 400 acres in Bel-Air. Six homes were destroyed and a dozen more were damaged on Moraga Drive, Casiano Road and Linda Flora Drive.
The Skirball fire was 85 percent contained Tuesday, with 69 firefighters still working to mop up the operation, officials said.
