Lancaster Man Dies in Fire After Argument

A man who had been fighting with his wife was found dead early Wednesday after a fire broke out in their residence near Lancaster, authorities said.

The body of George Alvarado, 56, was found in a closet of a bedroom in the one-story house in the 300 block of East Avenue G-6, Los Angeles County fire and coroner’s spokesmen said.

The fire started about 1:10 a.m. after the man’s wife, whose name was not released, ran from the house during an argument, Sheriff’s Deputy Rafael Estrada said. Alvarado apparently became violent and threw furniture during the confrontation, he said.

Alvarado became trapped and died before firefighters entered the house shortly before 2 a.m., Estrada said. The cause of the fire, which caused about $120,000 in damage to the house, was under investigation.

Neighbors said the house was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. “I stood at the front door and saw the flames and they were way up in the air,” neighbor Virginia Hofstetter said.