LA PUENTE – officials said a series of three small fires reported within an hour of each other Thursday afternoon were not arson, but coincidental.

The fires involved trees and shrubs and began about 2:30 p.m. with a tree fire in the 400 block of Cadbrook Drive, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.

That blaze began as either a tree or shrub fire, but spread to the roof of a nearby home, officials said. One person was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Within an hour, two additional fires had been reported, officials said. Some shrubs were reported to be on fire in the 15000 block of Beckner Street, and a palm tree fire was reported on fire in the 1500 block of N. Puente Ave.

One of the fires was apparently ignited when a locker full of cleaning chemicals spontaneously combusted, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Raymond Enriquez said.

Though officials were initially concerned that the string of fires could be the work of an arsonist, that was ultimately found not to be the case, he said.