Dozens of alleged homeless arson fires frustrate South LA residents

LOS ANGELES - Exhausted, fed up and defeated. 

South Los Angeles residents said they're frustrated and are tired of seeing their neighborhood constantly go up in flames.

"I’m gonna take my *** up out of here," said a South LA resident, who goes by "Big Tex."

"Big Tex" and his neighbors have all lived along Hoover Street for about 20 years, where they run a professional babysitting business for 14 kids in the midst of a homeless encampment. 

In the past month,  residents have reportedly dealt with 31 fires. The fires – happening just under the 105 Freeway to the 110 Freeway to Vermont Avenue.

"Every single one is arson-related," said David Matthews, a Harbor Gateway community advocate. "It’s homeless encampments."

FOX 11 was shown a homeless encampment in the area and spoke with one of the residents. A resident, Delsynvin, denied any involvement in the ongoing problems plaguing South LA.

"I don't see people living on the streets who are starting a lot of fires. I feel as though the main reason for confusion and discord is ignorance," Delsynvin said.

With some parts of the South LA neighborhood being tagged as city property and other parts considered state property, there’s been confusion on who is in charge of answering to the residents’ concerns.

"The issue is we have all these overlapping jurisdictions and nobody is still not communicating with each other. It's time we stop this. We can solve it, but we have to all come to the table," Matthews said.