Topanga Resident Confronts Suspicious Hiker In Fire Zone Amid Arson Concerns

Folks living near the devastating Pacific Palisades wildfire are on high alert after a resident confronted a suspicious hiker on a remote road in Topanga ... and now cops are involved.

TMZ obtained video of a tense interaction between a Topanga local and a lone hiker, who gave vague answers to basic questions about where he was going and what he was doing walking around with a backpack in a fire zone.

There are concerns arson is the cause of the Palisades fire ... and at one point during the exchange, the hiker responds to a question about the contents of his backpacking by saying unprompted, "Definitely not any lighter fluid."

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has seen the video and are looking into the matter.

This all went down Sunday on a remote fire road in Topanga ... and the hiker says he's lost, isn't from the area, and says he's trying to get to San Diego -- which is a helluva walk.

Folks who live in Topanga say the guy was in his 20s and was around 200 lbs and 6 feet tall ... and we're told told a man matching the description was also seen in Agoura.

The resident recording the video is pretty upset by the time the video ends and it appears he's ready to confront the hiker ... but we don't know what happened when the recording stopped.