We will “be preparing for what may be coming tonight,” said Los Angeles County
fire Battalion Chief Tom Sullivan.

Fire officials couldn’t say whether the rash of fires was the work of a
copycat. There was a series of other arson fires early Thursday, also in
Hollywood. Two people have been arrested and remain in custody for those
blazes, officials said.

All of the fires on Friday were in a 2-square mile area and most were in
densely populated neighborhoods.

One of the homes was in Laurel Canyon, where Morrison and his girlfriend once
lived, neighbors said. The winding road was the inspiration for the Doors’
hit “Love Street,” and the house was listed for nearly $1.2 million earlier
this year, according to real estate website Zillow.com.

Sandy Gendel, who owns a nearby restaurant, said he heard explosions from what
he later determined were likely car tires. He saw flames 30 feet high coming
from the deck of the former Morrison house and a gutted Mazda Miata.

“It was just like a towering inferno,” he said.

Jeff Dorman, who lives in the neighborhood, said he and his wife were awakened
by noise in the street.

As he and his neighbors watched the firefight, he said they worried about
embers floating toward their houses because they are so close together. They
also were concerned about a firebug being loose in their neighborhood.

“One spark could have been a huge problem,” Dorman said. “The fire department
did a fantastic job.”

City Councilman Tom LaBonge said the arsonist is mostly targeting underground
parking in mid-century type apartments that have no security gates and
putting some kind of incendiary device under cars.

“These are not trash can fires on street corners. We are just a second away
from tragedy,” he said.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Jaime Moore said car fires spread to
adjacent buildings in at least three cases, and investigators were looking
for patterns that might link the blazes.

Hollywood is served by the Los Angeles city police and fire departments.
Adjacent West Hollywood is a separately incorporated city served by the Los
Angeles County fire and sheriff’s departments.