A boy playing with matches started a fire in north Los Angeles County that destroyed more than 15,000 hectares (38,000 acres) and destroyed 21 homes last week, according to Californian police.

The boy, whose name and age were not released, confessed to starting the Buckweed fire, north of Los Angeles, on October 21 but claimed it was an accident.

Diane Hecht, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said: “He admitted to playing with matches and accidentally starting the fire."

The boy was released to his parents, and the case will be be presented to the district attorney’s office. He is believed to be under the age of 13, according to Reuters.

Sergeant Hecht said she did not know whether he was arrested or bailed by detectives.

The Buckweed fire, which was initially believed to have been caused by fallen power lines, began in an area near Agua Dulce and quickly spread by fierce desert winds. It was among more than a dozen major wildfires that killed 14 people, destroyed 2,176 homes, and blackened 206,980 hectares - an area more than five times the size of the Isle of Wight - from Los Angeles to the Mexican border.

Police have arrested five people for arson during that period, but none have been linked to any of the major blazes. Four of the blazes, two of which are still burning, have been listed as having a human cause, according to the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

Detectives said an arsonist also set a destructive wildfire in Orange County that blackened 11,500 hectares and destroyed 16 homes. Investigators believe the blaze was deliberately set because they found two ignition points within a short distance - a common sign of arson.

Authorities are seeking the driver of a white pickup truck spotted in a canyon area around the time the fire broke out, but stopped short of describing the driver as a suspect.

Officials offered a $285,000 (£138,000) reward to anyone with information that will lead to an arrest and conviction.

Firefighters had surrounded all but four of the blazes yesterday, and the remaining ones were more than 90 percent contained. The largest, which was 99 per cent contained yesterday, was the Witch fire near San Diergo, which consumed 79,000 hectares and destroyed 1,121 homes.

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