Brentwood Townhouse Fire Prompts Evacuations

Story has been updated to include the latest information on the investigation.

Dozens of Brentwood residents were evacuated from their apartments early Thursday morning when a fierce fire burnt up a townhouse construction site on Gorham Avenue, reports KTLA.

Asst. Chief Mario Rueda explained the reason for the evacuations to KTLA: "Anytime you have a wood frame structure that was actively involved by the time we got on scene, you're gonna have a lot of heat that's put out, exposing all the adjoining buildings."

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Matt Spence took to twitter at about 4:30am to update residents in real time about the blaze, describing it as a "heavy fire." It took 160 firefighters almost two hours to tame, and there were no reported injuries.

Some of the residents that were evacuated could not return to their damaged homes, according to CBS2, and the Red Cross is working with authorities to set up the Barrington Recreation Center as a temporary shelter for them.

UPDATE -- The Los Angeles Fire Department has determined that the cause of the fire was arson, and are asking members of the public to contact them if they have any information about the case. Reach the Arson Counter-Terrorism Section of the LAFD at (213) 893-9800.

The LAFD also notes that The Barrington Recreation Center was ultimately not needed for the displaced families, as they were able to obtain temporarytresidences with friends and family in the area.