A person of interest is being held by the Long Beach Police Department after allegedly trying to set fire to the Mobil gas station at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and 2nd Street early this morning.
According to a press release, the person tried to set fire to a gas pump and a tree around 2:30AM. A videographer at the scene said that the fire was put out by the station’s attendant.
The arson attempt occurred just hours before the Los Cerritos Wetlands a few hundred feet east of the intersection burst into flames, causing authorities to shut down traffic in both directions as firefighters extinguished the blaze.
The cause of that fire is still under investigation.