20 Unfinished Homes Destroyed by Flames

A suspected arson fire fanned by high winds roared through a Palmdale housing development Tuesday evening, destroying 20 homes under construction and damaging two others, authorities said.

Los Angeles County fire officials estimated damage at the California Dawn development, a Kaufman & Broad project near Avenue S and 50th Street East, at as much as $1.5 million. There were no injuries.

“It’s lucky the fire didn’t take the whole block out,” Battalion Chief Mike Balzano said.

Nearly 100 firefighters fought the flames for 45 minutes, officials said.

‘Definitely Suspicious’

The fire broke out shortly before 6 p.m. in a home under construction about a block from occupied homes in the tract, which contains about 200 completed houses and 200 under construction, a spokesman for the developer said.

Arson investigators from both the Sheriff’s and Fire departments were investigating.

“It’s definitely suspicious circumstances,” Battalion Chief Jerry Peskett said.

Fire investigators said the blaze apparently began in the rafters of one of the buildings, which they said was an unlikely ignition point for an accidental fire.

Desert winds gusting up to 30 m.p.h. spread the flames rapidly down a row partially built houses on Sunburst Drive and then jumped to structures across the street.

The homes, priced at between $100,000 and $140,000, had already been reserved for buyers, said Jim Adair, president of the developer’s Antelope Valley division. The structures were insured, he said.

Cheryl Green, 23, a security guard at the site, said a gardener working in the area first alerted her to the flames.

“It’s like the house went from a little-bitty fire to poof!” she said.

Riding Bicycles

There were many construction workers in the area at the time, Green said. She said there have been problems with young people riding bicycles in the area, but there were no reports Tuesday of suspicious people near the scene.

Prospective buyers of the burned homes will be asked to accept nearby models, Adair said.