Man Charged With Arson For Canoga Park Apartment Fire

CANOGA PARK, CA — A 24-year-old man was charged Thursday with arson for a blaze that ripped through an upstairs unit in a two-story apartment building in Canoga Park this week.

Michael Johnson of Los Angeles pleaded not guilty to one count of arson of an inhabited structure.
He was arrested Tuesday just over two hours after an early morning blaze Tuesday at 21315 Roscoe Blvd., near Canoga Avenue, authorities said.

Nearly 80 firefighters dispatched at 1:52 a.m. to the fire had the blaze fully extinguished in about a half-hour, according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. No injuries were reported.

It was not clear whether Johnson lived in the apartment building.

He has remained jailed on $250,000 bail, jail records show.