500,000 for killers of 4 firefighters

Researcher87

Electoral Member
Sep 20, 2006
496
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In Monsoon West (B.C)
BEAUMONT, Calif. (AP) - As flames roared through the canyons of southern California, authorities increased the reward to US$500,000 on Friday for the arrest of the arsonist responsible for the deaths of four firefighters in the United States' worst such tragedy in five years.
A fifth firefighter lay in grave condition with burns over 90 per cent of his body.
The wind-whipped, 100-square-kilometre wildfire pushed through uninhabited land about 145 kilometres east of Los Angeles after forcing people out of a few mobile homes overnight. About 10 structures, including homes, were destroyed on Thursday.
Investigators have not said how they know the blaze was arson, how it was set, or why. But they said those responsible could face murder charges.
Two young men were seen leaving the area where the fire broke out about 1 a.m. Thursday. Also, investigators said they were looking into whether the wildfire was related to other blazes in recent months, including a canyon fire last weekend.
Winds gusted to 72 km/h but kept the flames moving through undeveloped land, away from homes in Riverside County. Mop-up work was underway back in the mountain communities where the flames swept through the previous day, and hundreds of people were allowed to leave a trailer park where they had taken refuge.
The U.S. Forest Service firefighters were killed on Thursday when the wind blew a wall of flames down on them in the hills near Palm Springs as they tried to protect a home.
It was the worst disaster involving firefighters battling a wildfire since 2001, when four firefighters were trapped by flames and killed in Washington state.
James Pence, 63, said that shortly after the fire started in the town of Cabazon, he saw two unfamiliar young men leaving the area, which he said is close to a teenage hangout known as Raccoon Rock. "These kids didn't belong here. They were strange people," Pence said.
Tim Bowers, 49, said he was awakened by his dog, looked outside his trailer and saw flames on a hillside about 100 yards (metres) away. He said two unfamiliar young men walked away from the fire.
"I looked at them. They looked at me. Then they turned their heads and kept walking," Bowers said. The two were gone by the time he alerted an arriving firefighter, he said.
Sheriff's detectives interviewed the Cabazon trailer park neighbours and fielded about 100 tips.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger added $100,000 in state money to a reward already posted by Riverside County for information leading to the arsonist. San Bernardino County and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, which has a casino, added another $200,000. A Rancho Mirage resident, Tim Blixseth also donated $100,000, bringing the total to $500,000.
The U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry were also investigating the firefighters' deaths, gathering information on weather, topography and fuel. They interviewed firefighters who were nearby and retrieved information from dispatch tapes.
Michael Wakowski, a fire division chief in the San Bernardino National Forest, said it did not appear the crew did anything wrong.
"Sometimes things go bad, I hate to say," he said.
Investigators were also looking into whether the fire was related to a 16-hectare blaze on Sunday in nearby Mias Canyon. "There's been a lot of fires in this area all summer long. You can connect the dots," Wakowski said.
Killed were engine Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, 44; engine operator Jess McLean, 27; assistant engine operator Jason McKay, 27; and firefighter Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20. Another crew member, Pablo Cerda, 23, suffered burns over 90 per cent of his body and was in grave condition.
"I think they should get the death penalty for this," a neighbour of McLean's in Beaumont, Marlene Lopez, said of whoever set the fire.
The school attended by three of Loutzenhiser's five children cancelled a talent show because of the tragedy. "As I've told my staff, they have been devastated," said Principal Emily Shaw. "Mark was entwined in every part of school life here."

Kinds of reminds me of another similar thing in California that they had on Unsolved Mysteries in the 1990s where they were looking for arsonists that resulted in the wiping out of two fire truck crews, in total 12 firefighters.
 

gopher

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 26, 2005
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Minnesota: Gopher State
It definitely is terrorism. But when it happens domestically, some people conveniently ignore it and focus on what happens overseas because their agenda is to generate war and oil profits.