A tragic incident unfolded early Thursday morning in South Los Angeles as firefighters responded to a tree fire on the 500 block of East Vernon Avenue, near Avalon Boulevard. The blaze, reported at approximately 5:03 a.m., led to the discovery of a severely burned body after the flames were extinguished.
Authorities pronounced the unidentified individual dead at the scene. The circumstances surrounding the fire and the victim’s death remain unclear. Officials from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division, the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Arson Unit, and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner are jointly investigating the incident.
“The cause of the fire is currently undetermined,” LAPD said in a statement, urging anyone with information to come forward.