Homicide probed in massive LA-area arson fire
C.Tudor
involves a pedestrian is caused by the pedestrian and *every* wildfire
is the product of *arson*.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090904/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires/print
Homicide probed in massive LA-area arson fire
By GREG RISLING and RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writers
LOS ANGELES � Investigators launched a homicide investigation Thursday
into the wildfire north of Los Angeles after determining that the
gigantic blaze � which has killed two firefighters, scorched 226 square
miles and destroyed dozens of homes � was set intentionally.
"We believe that this was caused by someone intending to set a fire,"
sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said at an afternoon briefing.
Officials said forensic evidence at the fire's point of origin revealed
that the wildfire � among the largest in Southern California's history �
was an act of arson. Whitmore declined to elaborate on the evidence due
to the ongoing investigation.
The two firefighters died Sunday when their truck careened off a steep
mountain road.
Earlier Thursday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured a fire-ravaged
community where the fire left dozens of homes in ruins, encountering
piles of twisted metal and rubble as firefighters began to bring the
blaze under greater control.
The blaze was 38 percent contained Thursday, up from 28 percent the
previous day.
Schwarzenegger talked to residents about their losses and later thanked
firefighters for all of their work in putting out the flames. At one
point during the tour, the former bodybuilder picked up a 30-pound
barbell located amid the wreckage.
"Even though we are still battling those fires, we are now trying to
help get people's lives rebuilt," Schwarzenegger said. "When you see
this kind of devastation, it's horrible to lose your home, your personal
belongings."
Despite the overall progress against the fire, firefighters dealt with a
flare-up overnight in a remote canyon as strong downslope winds "just
kind of blew the fire up," said U.S. Forest Service official John
Huschke. Twenty-five people in 11 homes were evacuated in the canyon area.
The wildfire, now in its eighth day, has destroyed 64 homes, burned
three people and left two firefighters dead. During the night, a
firefighter injured his leg when he fell 20 foot from a cliff and was
taken to a hospital by a medical helicopter, officials said. He was in
stable condition.
Full containment was expected Sept. 15, meaning fire officials expect
that they will have the blaze completely surrounded by then.
Firefighters have been conducting an aerial assault on the fire to
complement efforts on the ground. Helicopters have doused the fire with
1.7 million gallons of water � enough to fill about three Olympic-sized
swimming pools � while airplanes have dropped 670,000 gallons of
retardant on the fire.
"We're changing the pace and treating this as a marathon," U.S. Forest
Service incident commander Mike Dietrich said. "If it were a 26-mile
race, we'd only be at mile six."
There were growing signs that Los Angeles was looking to move beyond the
fire.
The UCLA football team earlier in the week feared it might have to
postpone its home opener on Saturday because the fire is so close to the
Rose Bowl, its home stadium. But the school said Thursday that the game
will be played as scheduled.
Schwarzenegger got an earful from some residents as he toured the
community of Vogel Flats in Big Tujunga Canyon, where most of the 40
homes were leveled by the blaze.
Bert Voorhees, 53, who lost his 800 square-foot home, wondered why
firefighters didn't have aircraft or strike crews available before the
fire raced into the canyon over the weekend and wiped out the mountain
community.
"I just know a terrible mistake was made in this canyon," said Voorhees,
a civil rights lawyer. "It's much bigger than this canyon. The fact that
it cost two guys (firefighters) their lives, it's like bigger than any
of this."
Voorhees suggested that fire officials bowed to political pressure and
opted to protect richer neighborhoods to show off its aerial assault
instead of snuffing out the fire when it was in its infancy.
Fire officials denied they were influenced by legislators where to put
firefighters and equipment. They said they were willing to meet with
residents about what happened.
"The distance of this fire in relation to this canyon, necessitated
putting resources where the immediate threat was," deputy incident
commander Carlton Joseph said. "This thing moved in hard and fast.
Firefighters told me they have never seen a fire move that fast."
The search for what sparked the blaze intensified as U.S. Forest Service
investigators gathered along a road in a blackened forest to hunt for
clues near where the fire started. They shook soil in a can and planted
red, blue and yellow flags to mark evidence beneath a partially burned
oak tree at the bottom of a ravine.
___
Associated Press writers Thomas Watkins, Jacob Adelman and Daisy Nguyen
in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090904/ap_on_re_us/us_wildfires/print