Suspect Barricades In Laguna Hills Home, Sets It Ablaze

LAGUNA HILLS, CA —A man barricaded himself inside a burning Laguna Hills home Wednesday morning after a disturbance in the neighborhood, officials reported.

One person has been arrested as of 12:30 p.m., according to Orange County Sheriff's Department Virgil Ascension. Their name and involvement has not yet been released as of this report.

Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies arrived at the scene on the 27000 block of Greenfield Drive after a disturbance was reported at 10 a.m., according to OCSD spokeswoman Carrie Braun.

Officers attempted to confront a suspect at the Greenfield Drive residence. At one point, deputies entered the home, but fled shortly thereafter due to smoke filling the residence, Braun told Patch.

As of this report, the nature of the initial disturbance was not yet made clear. Smoke from the fire billowed into the south Orange County sky, and could be seen from the 5 Freeway and State Route 73, as well as Crown Valley Parkway. The sheriff's department officers did their best to bring the situation to a swift end, while Orange County Fire Authority firefighters arrived at the scene to quell the blaze.

Firefighters were unable to enter the building to battle the fire, according to Capt. Greg Barta.

"Firefighters had a main goal of ensuring the house fire did not reach nearby homes," Barta said. "Now that the suspect has been arrested, we will return to extinguishing the house fire."

Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies worked to de-escalate the situation with the barricaded suspect, who was later taken into custody.

This is a developing report. Please refresh for the latest information.