Top 5 SGV-Area Stories: House Fire, Bomb Threat, Sarah Alarid, 210 Fatality, Huell Howser

The weekend wraps up with a gathering of some of the most popular Patch articles from the past week. Here are five stories that topped the headlines on SGV-area Patch sites:

• A Monrovia house fire that cause an explosion and severely injured three men was apparently caused by a  

• A government office building on Huntington Drive in Monrovia withstood an evacuation after a phoned-in bomb threat was made. The building was occupied by the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) department. It was later determined by authorities to be an idle threat.

• The death of California TV icon Huell Howser reverberated throughout the Southland, and the SGV was no different. Among his many connections included ties to Pasadena and Altadena. His unique volcano house was designed by a Pasadena architect, whose son now runs an Altadena firm.

• Angeles National Forest was a hotbed of news in one day, first with reports of a 'shallow grave' and then the tragic discovery of missing teen Sarah Alarid's body and crashed car off a ravine. Montrose Search and Rescue was called in to help at both scenes.

• An spin-out accident on the 210 Freeway turned fatal when the driver of the car, 18-year-old Arno Shakhmalian of Glendale, attempted to cross the 210 with his friend and was hit by an oncoming box truck. He was pronounced dead at Huntington Memorial Hospital, while his friend and the truck driver were not injured.

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