Man Caught Setting a Brush Fire Near Lake Arrowhead

[WarmNCozy]

<Snip>Meanwhile, the California Highway Patrol arrested an adult male who was caught Wednesday setting a brush fire in San Bernadino County, near Lake Arrowhead. San Bernadino County is another area hit hard by the fires, but it is not known if the suspect, John Hund, 49, of Hesperia, was responsible for the earlier fires.

Rest of article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304623,00.html

[packy]

I can't get the link but I wonder if he's the same one that they saw hunched over and then taking off on a motorcycle. If he's the one and it's true he did it I hope they can get enough evidence to convict him.

[gacountry]

<Snip>Meanwhile, the California Highway Patrol arrested an adult male who was caught Wednesday setting a brush fire in San Bernadino County, near Lake Arrowhead. San Bernadino County is another area hit hard by the fires, but it is not known if the suspect, John Hund, 49, of Hesperia, was responsible for the earlier fires.

Rest of article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304623,00.html

All those homes, all those people leaving their belonging behind as they sought shelter and safety. All those parents that worried about their children, what would be the punishment for such a crime. If this was intentional as it looks to be I hope he gets to hear and see those faces that he destroyed lives.

[WarmNCozy]

All those homes, all those people leaving their belonging behind as they sought shelter and safety. All those parents that worried about their children, what would be the punishment for such a crime. If this was intentional as it looks to be I hope he gets to hear and see those faces that he destroyed lives.

He doesn't care! Arsonists love the look of the fire as it burns. People don't matter to them! The thrill of the flames is what they get off on, like rapists or serial killers! Just very sick people!

And here I am worried about my children when this guy is setting more fires! OMG!

[WarmNCozy]

I can't get the link but I wonder if he's the same one that they saw hunched over and then taking off on a motorcycle. If he's the one and it's true he did it I hope they can get enough evidence to convict him.

Same one, packy! Cops were in a helicopter over really rich houses keeping check on vandalism when they saw this guy ride up the mountain on his motorcycle, get off and set a new brush fire! Police caught him from tips from the cops in the air! Unbelievable isn't it!

[WarmNCozy]

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 25, 2007
Meanwhile Winds Slow, Giving Firefighters A Fighting Chance

CBS/AP) CBS News has learned a task force of agencies, including the FBI, ATF, the Orange County Fire Authority and the California Department of Forestry will announce shortly that the massive Santiago Canyon Fire -- which has caused an estimated $10 million in damage -- is being officially declared an arson, and a $70,000 reward is being offered to find the arsonist.

Investigators have identified two separate "points of origin" where they believe the fire was set, CBS News has learned. FBI agents secured the scene to "maintain its integrity."

The Santiago Fire has burned about 19,200 acres east of Irvine, officials said, and it is around 30 percent contained. Six homes and eight outbuildings have been destroyed, with another eight homes and 12 outbuildings damaged. Four firefighters have been injured fighting the blaze and about 3,000 people evacuated.

In San Bernardino County, a man suspected of starting a small fire was arrested and another man was shot to death by police after he fled officers who approached to see if he might be trying to set a fire.

Meanwhile, the relentless Santa Ana winds have slowed, allowing dozens of aircraft to douse the burning hills with water, reports CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric.

Wind was reported blowing at a sustained speed of 21 to 36 mph in some areas Wednesday, considerably less than the gusts of up to 100 mph earlier in the week.

Property damage has reached at least $1 billion in San Diego County alone, and President Bush signed a major disaster declaration for California. The president is scheduled to visit the region Thursday.

The death toll from the most recent blazes may rise as fires continue to burn and authorities return to neighborhoods where homes turned to piles of ash, but displaced homeowners and authorities were relieved that early reports were so low.

The San Diego County medical examiner officially listed six deaths connected to the blazes, but he included five who died during the evacuation who were not directly killed by the fire.

There have been at least 66 injuries, including 40 firefighters.

That contrasts to 22 dead from a fire of similar magnitude in 2003. And while the final toll has yet to be tallied from this week's fires, officials were crediting an automated, reverse 911 calling system that prompted the orderly evacuation of more than half a million people - 10 times the number evacuated four years ago.

“They are more determined that people leave,” said Steve Levstik, who got his call 15 minutes before flames swept through his Rancho Bernardo neighborhood.

“It was very intense. On the call, it was like, 'This area, go! This area, go!' In 2003 there was less guidance. It was like, 'Just pay attention to the news and if it looks bad, leave.’”

But over 26,000 more homes across Southern California are still in danger, reports Couric. The wildfires have already consumed 700 square miles and forced the greatest evacuation California has ever seen.

And none of the major fires is contained, reports Couric. In many places firefighters are feeling frustrated, beating down the flames in one spot only to watch them pop-up someplace else.

"Clearly, this is going to be a $1 billion or more disaster," Ron Lane, San Diego County's director of emergency services, told reporters during a news conference.

The improving weather allowed for a greater aerial assault on the flames and helped firefighters beat back the most destructive blazes. Helicopters and air tankers dropped 30 to 35 loads of water on two fires that have burned hundreds of homes in the San Bernardino Mountains, near Lake Arrowhead.

“They're taking it down considerably,” said Dennis Bouslaugh of the U.S. Forest Service.

Authorities said they had largely contained many of the fires north of San Diego, and all five fires in Los Angeles County were about 50 percent contained or more.

Despite the progress, none of the six major blazes in San Diego County was more than 15 percent contained, and those fires threatened more than 8,500 houses. The top priority was a fire in San Bernardino County that threatened 6,000 homes and continued to rage out of control.

So far, this week's fires have destroyed about 1,500 homes and burned 674 square miles across five counties, from Ventura in the north all the way into Mexico.

Terry Dooley, who was ordered out of his home with his wife and three sons Monday, said authorities learned important lessons from Hurricane Katrina and the 2003 California fires that wiped out 3,640 homes and blackened 750,000 acres during a two-week period.

“They learned how to get things done more quickly,” Dooley said as he waited at a roadblock Wednesday to return home to San Diego's upscale, densely populated Rancho Bernardo area.

In addition to the reverse-911 system, authorities also shut down schools, halted mail delivery and urged people to stay home and off the roads if they were not in danger.

Another factor separating these fire from other disasters has been wealth. Unlike many of the poor neighborhoods flooded by Hurricane Katrina, the hardest-hit areas in California were filled with upscale homes, with easy access to wide streets. Less wealthy areas - including rural enclaves and horse farms that stretch through the mountains east of San Diego - benefited from easy road access and small crowds.

On Wednesday, about two dozen people gathered at a police barricade in Rancho Bernardo, which was one of the hardest-hit areas, hoping to retrieve medications and belongings - or simply to see if their homes were intact.

What awaited many was an apocalyptic scene: entire streets leveled, cars reduced to charred hulks of metal, homes with only chimneys left standing. House after house, 29 on one street alone, were reduced to piles of blackened concrete, twisted metal and white ash.

At one point, police officers lifted a barricade into the neighborhood only to turn residents away several hundred yards down the road at a second barricade. Some of the homeowners cursed at the officers.

“You let us in just to send us back out,” one angry man yelled from his car.

Dooley knew his home was OK because his home answering machine still worked.

Six of San Diego County's 42 evacuation centers were full Wednesday but there was plenty space at Qualcomm Stadium, home to the NFL Chargers, where 10,000 people sought refuge. People rested on cots that lined covered walkways circling the bleachers and quietly watched television as National Guard troops watched. There were no bathroom lines.

Some displaced homeowners complained that the evacuations went too far.

Ron Morris, 68, saw smoke but no flames when he was ordered to leave a motor home park in Ramona, northeast of San Diego, Sunday night. He drove his recreational vehicle to Qualcomm Stadium's parking lot.

“It's good that everyone got out, but they did it too early in my opinion.” he said.

Authorities made no apologies.

“One happy consequence” of the 2003 fires is that people remember that fire can be very unpredictable, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.

“All but the most unlucky people can see the fire coming,” he said. “There's no reason you should have loss of life, certainly for civilians.”

The only confirmed death from the flames was Thomas Varshock, 52, of Tecate, a town on the U.S. side of the border southeast of San Diego. He was ordered to evacuate, but he didn't leave and authorities left him to take care of other evacuations.

Al Guerin, a San Diego County assistant sheriff, estimated only 100 to 200 people ignored evacuation orders. That included 20 people in the rural community of Jamul, near the Mexican border. Firefighters returned to save them.

Continued at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/24/national/main3401265.shtml

[WarmNCozy]

Thursday, October 25, 2007

SAN DIEGO — President Bush arrived in southern California Thursday to get a firsthand look at neighborhoods and acres of land scorched by wildfires and to extend federal aid to help thousands of familes whose homes are burnt to the ground.

“It’s a sad situation out there in southern California,” Bush told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. “I fully understand that the people have, you know, got a lot of anguish in their hearts. And they just need to know a lot of folks care about them.”

Bush took a helicopter tour with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and visited a San Diego neighborhood before talking about recovery efforts and lunching with rescue crews.

Meanwhile, investigators searched for clues that could lead to potential arson suspects in four fires believed to be set by arsonists. The FBI has become involved in the investigation because part of the fire was on federal land in a National Forest.

A total of $125,000 in reward money — $70,000 from the Orange County Fire Authority and $50,000 from Schwarzenegger — is being offered for information leading to an arrest for those responsible for the Santiago fire in the rugged eastern part of th-e county.

Rescue crews discovered two burned bodies in a gutted home, bringing the death toll to 10 fire-related deaths of San Diego residents, according to the county of San Diego.

Firefighters worked to gain control of the most severe fires with help from the vertical movement of the smoke showing that the fierce Santa Ana winds that had whipped seemingly small brush fires into a 460,000 acre inferno were starting to ease, FOX News' Claudia Cowan reported.

"We have some incredibly brave citizens who are risking their lives to protect people and property in California and we owe a great debt of gratitude to our nation's firefighters," Bush said.

The Santiago fire grew to 22,000 acres Wednesday night, while containment of the flames shrank from 50 percent to 30 percent.

Los Angeles police arrested a man on suspicion of arson after witnesses said they saw him lighting a fire on a hillside. Catalino Pineda was booked for investigation of arson but officials could not say whether Pineda was connected to the wildfires.

Orange County officials executed a search warrant Wednesday as part of a probe into whether one or more of the fires in that county were the result of arson. Earlier Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol arrested a motorcyclist who was caught setting a brush fire in San Bernadino County, near Lake Arrowhead.

Investigators will talk to fire crews first on the scene and try to find eyewitnesses for clues leading to potential suspects, said Rick Price, a former Los Angeles fire investigator.

Jodi Miller, a spokesperson for San Bernardino County, told FOX News that the small brush fire set by John Hund, 48, of Hesperia, was an isolated incident and immediately extinguished by witnesses. He is not suspected of starting wildfires burning large swaths of the county.

"It is not related whatsoever to the fires going on in our mountains," Miller said.

In the city of San Bernardino, police said they shot and killed a man who fled Tuesday night when officers approached to see if he might be trying to set a fire. After a chase, the man, whose name was not released, backed his car into a police cruiser and an officer opened fire, police said.

The fires forced almost one million people from their homes — the largest evacuation in the state's history. More than 70,000 homes remained threatened.

"Clearly, this is going to be a $1 billion or more disaster," Ron Lane, San Diego County's director of emergency services, told reporters during a news conference.

On Wednesday, Bush declared a major disaster area and ordered federal aid to help recovery efforts.

Some of the evacuees, whose homes were located closer to the coast, were being allowed back into their neighborhoods. Interstate 5, which had been closed between Los Angeles and San Diego, was reopened to southbound traffic.

An unmanned NASA aircraft outfitted with high-tech imaging equipment took off Wednesday from Edwards Air Force Base on Wednesday for a 10-hour flight to help firefighters locate hot spots. Pilots at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center were remotely controlling the aircraft, outfitted with a thermal-infrared imaging system capable of seeing through thick smoke.

Crews also were anticipating additional firefighters and equipment from other states, mostly throughout the West. Frustration over the firefighting effort began to emerge Tuesday when a fire official said not enough had been done to protect homes.

Orange County Fire Chief Chip Prather told reporters that firefighters' lives were threatened because too few crews were on the ground. He said a quick deployment of aircraft could have corralled a massive blaze near Irvine.

"It is an absolute fact: Had we had more air resources, we would have been able to control this fire," he said.

Twenty-one firefighters and at least 24 others have been injured. One person was killed by the flames, and the San Diego medical examiner's officer listed five other deaths as connected to the blazes.

The only confirmed death from the flames was Thomas Varshock, 52, of Tecate, a town on the U.S. side of the border southeast of San Diego, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said. Authorities had told him to evacuate, but he didn't leave and authorities left to take care of other evacuations, the medical examiner's office said.

Firefighters returned to save two people trapped at his home Sunday but were unable to rescue Varshock, said Rick Hutchinson, a deputy incident commander for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The state's top firefighter said Prather misstated the availability of firefighters and equipment. Eight of the state's nine water-dumping helicopters were in Southern California by Sunday, when the first fires began, along with 13 air tankers, said Ruben Grijalva, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Grijalva said the fires would have overwhelmed most efforts to fight them.

Schwarzenegger dismissed the criticism when questioned by an ABC News reporter, and praised the rapid deployment of fire crews and equipment across a region from north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border.

"Anyone that is complaining about the planes just wants to complain because there's a bunch of nonsense," he said. "The fact is that we could have all the planes in the world here — we have 90 aircraft here and six that we got especially from the federal government — and they can't fly because of the wind situation."

The fires have engulfed Southern California's oceanfront wealth belt, laying waste to multi-million dollar homes. But at Qualcomm Stadium, where thousands of evacuees have taken refuge, the Schlotte family of Ramona, Calif., spoke to FOX News of a different reality.

The family did not own property, but were renters with no insurance to cover their losses. Ben Schlotte, a house painter, lost his work truck and equipment in the fire, and said that with so many homes destroyed in the area, his painting business was essentially finished.

"All of our memories are gone," his wife, Billy, said.

Thousands of people have packed emergency shelters, where many had an agonizing wait to find out whether their homes had survived.

"I'm ready to go, but at the same time, I don't want to go up there and be surprised," said Mary Busch, 41, who did not know whether her home in Ramona was still standing. She has lived at the evacuation center at Qualcomm Stadium since Monday, sleeping in her SUV with her 11 and 8-year-old sons.

Continued: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304623,00.html

[WarmNCozy]

Paradise Lost? Malibu Picks Up the Pieces
The Rich and Famous Are Powerless Against Wildfires
October 25, 2007

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff305/CozyNWarm/rt_malibu_fire_071025_ms.jpg
A firefighter sprays fire retardant foam on the smoking remains of a house that was destroyed during a wind-driven wildfire in Malibu, California, October 22, 2007. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)


By LAURA COVERSON
Oct. 25, 2007
The celebrity life may not be much to envy as the smoke begins to clear from the wildfires that have ravaged Southern California this week.

As dawn broke Monday, fierce flames forced the evacuation of several hundred residents of the scenic seaside town of Malibu, including many well-known entertainers.

The popular coastal enclave is home to many celebrities, entertainment industry moguls and at least 12 billionaires, some of whom were forced to flee from their homes.

"I don't even want to consider what I would lose," said actress and ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" contestant Jane Seymour.

She told "Access Hollywood" that her husband defied evacuation orders this week. He remained in Malibu to defend their home, which she described as filled with family treasures and memorabilia from her career.

Kelsey Grammar, Sally Field, Olivia Newton John and Mel Gibson were among the celebrities who followed the advice of firefighters and left their homes.

When the smoke and ash cleared, six residences, a church, a glass business and a faux castle were destroyed.

Actor Sean Penn reportedly lost not one, but two homes perched on land at the top of Carbon Canyon Road, close to actor David Duchovny's house.

According to newspusher.com of AKA Media, Penn lost his first home on the exclusive hillside property in the big 1993 Topanga Malibu fire that destroyed 300 homes.

Hoping to avoid another devastating loss, the French entertainment news service says Penn did not rebuild a house, but instead placed two vintage trailer homes on the land. Both were burned in this week's wildfire.

In January, actress Suzanne Somers' beachfront home burned to the ground despite efforts by firefighters and actor (and neighbor) John Cusack. Somers vowed to rebuild.

Continued: http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3774125&page=1

[WarmNCozy]

No Suspects in SoCal Arson Investigation
Arson Believed to Cause Wildfires in Orange and Riverside Counties
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff305/CozyNWarm/ap_santiago_071024_ms.jpg
Authorities suspect arson was the cause of the Santiago fire in Southern California. The blaze forced mandatory evacuations for for the canyon areas northeast of Santiago Canyon Road between Modjeska Canyon Road and Live Oak Canyon Road, including Santiago Estates area in Silverado, Calif. (Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)

October 25, 2007

Federal agents have joined California officials in their search for arsonists who they believe started at least two of the 14 wildfires that have raged through Southern California the last five days, forcing mass evacuations and causing damage totaling millions of dollars.

Arson is suspected in the Santiago fire, which originated near the Santiago and Silverado canyons in Orange County. That fire was fed by Santa Ana winds and scorched 20,000 acres.

But authorities said they still have no suspects.

"No search warrants were executed and no arrests have been made," said Jim Amormino, of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

One resident captured what he believes may be proof of an arson.

Anthony Mack, of a local neighborhood watch force called the Silverado Canyon Watch, took pictures the night the Santiago blaze began and captured a view of the fire moving in three different directions.

"Fire doesn't start in three places at once so seeing it having multiple origins looked very suspicious," Mack said.

In addition to Orange County, arson is also suspected in the Riverside County fires.

The investigation has possibly increased tensions in some areas. In fact, in San Bernardino County, a man suspected of starting a small fire was arrested and police shot and killed another man when he fled after they approached him to see whether he might be igniting another blaze, according to The Associated Press.

Arson for Kicks?

While authorities continue searching for a suspect, at least one profiler says the type of person involved may have done it for the thrill.

"The arsonist is enormously proud of what he's done," said criminal profiler Candice Delong. "And often times people that do this kind of destruction and damage are inadequate in their lives, in their relationships with other people. They don't feel that they measure up. But when they start a fire they can look back and say, 'You don't think I'm anybody. Oh yeah, look at that.'"

"We rarely see arsons of this type being started by anyone other than an adult white male," she said.

Past Arsonists' Wildfires

Protecting Wildlife From the Blaze

In recent years, some of California's most damaging wildfires have been started by arsonists.

The 1993 and 1996 Malibu fires were linked to arsonists, and last year a blaze outside Palm Springs that killed four firefighters was also ruled as arson.

The Palm Springs blaze charred more than 60 square miles, and a 90-foot wall of flames overran members of the San Bernardino National Forest Engine 57 as they tried to protect an unoccupied vacation home.

Raymond Lee Oyler, a 36-year-old auto mechanic, is accused of starting the fire and five counts of first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial is set for December, the AP reports.

[WarmNCozy]

Wildfire Death Toll Climbs as Border Agents Find 4 More Bodies
October 26, 2007

SAN DIEGO — The pockets of smoke remain on the northern and southern horizons as Day Four of the Southern California firestorms ended, with locals trying to get back to normal as Border Patrol agents made a grisly discovery.

Agents found the charred remains of four apparent illegal migrant workers in a wooded area in Barrett Junction, a hard-scrabble hamlet just a few miles from the Mexican border.

"They could have been out there a while," said Paul Parker, a spokesman for the San Diego County medical examiner's office. They were tentatively identified as three men and one woman.

The discovery came as firefighters still worked into the evening to squelch hotspots in the Harris Fire along Highway 94 south of San Diego, which had scorched parts of Barrett Junction leaving it looking like a moonscape and smelling of burnt sage. The highway remained closed to residents, though some stragglers remained cut off from civilization behind the police barricades.

Meanwhile, Orange County, local authorities, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms widened their arson investigation, confirming that at least some of the fires were deliberately set.

Reward money of at least $250,000 was posted Thursday — including $100,000 from a local radio station — as officials hoped someone might come forward with information leading to the arrest of arson suspects.

Throughout the San Diego region, locals tried to pick up the pieces in towns where firefighters had extinguished the flames.

In Escondido, hundreds lined the road leading to Kit Carson Park to greet President Bush's motorcade as he came to address the first responders.

Those that returned to communities like Rancho Bernardo and Escondido hoped for the best and expected the worst.

"We're going to do everything we can to make sure that they come home to their house the way they left it," said Newport Beach Fire Capt. Rob Beuch as he rested from fighting the Santiago Fire in Orange County.

Across the city, evacuation centers emptied and Mayor Jerry Sanders announced that Qualcomm Stadium would close on Friday at noon and its remaining occupants would be transferred to Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Once sheltering more than 10,000 people, Qualcomm Stadium was home to just 350 on Friday morning.

Thousands of people lost their homes this week to the wildfires that left an arc of destruction from Ventura County to the Mexican border.

In all, fires raced across 490,000 acres — or 765 square miles, an area half the size of Rhode Island. They were fanned early in the week by Santa Ana winds that produced gusts topping 100 mph.

Of the 1,800 homes lost so far, 80 percent were in San Diego County. The property damage there alone already has surpassed $1 billion.

Still unsettled is whether the San Diego Chargers will play their home game against the Houston Texans at Qualcomm on Sunday. Mayor Jerry Sanders said the stadium should be ready but indicated the decision will be made by the NFL and the team.

Officials have opened assistance centers in the hardest-hit communities, where displaced residents can get help with insurance, rebuilding and even mental health counseling.

"The challenge now is starting to rebuild and getting them the resources they need to do that," San Diego County spokeswoman Lesley Kirk said Friday. "The county and city of San Diego are very committed to helping these people."

Schools remained canceled for thousands of students across the county as a few more ventured out and about – many with their faces covered in protective masks. An occasional light wind brought the smell of ash as officials debated its long-term effects.

But signs of upheaval remained with some parking lots near still-cordoned-off areas acting as campgrounds for the hundreds that still had yet to get word on whether their house was still standing.

Evacuees from Ramona though, had good news late Thursday, when officials reopened the town north of San Diego after a standoff over the treatment of sewage kept them from home.

A show of the federal government's support came Thursday when President Bush toured the fire-ravaged area with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bush pledged the government's cooperation.

"We want the people to know there's a better day ahead — that today your life may look dismal, but tomorrow life's going to be better," he said.

As the governor and president witnessed the devastation, the state came under criticism for failing to deploy sufficient aerial support in the wildfires' crucial first hours.

An Associated Press investigation revealed that nearly two dozen water-dropping helicopters and two cargo planes sat idle as flames spread, grounded by government rules and bureaucracy.

The Navy, Marine and California National Guard helicopters were grounded for a day partly because state rules require all firefighting choppers to be accompanied by state forestry "fire spotters" who coordinate water or retardant drops. By the time those spotters arrived, the high winds made it too dangerous to fly.

Additionally, the National Guard's C-130 cargo planes were not part of the firefighting arsenal because long-standing retrofits have yet to be completed. The tanks they need to carry thousands of gallons of fire retardant were promised four years ago.

"When you look at what's happened, it's disgusting, inexcusable foot-dragging that's put tens of thousands of people in danger," Republican U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said.

In addition to the discovery of the four bodies believed to be illegal migrant workers, the wildfires are directly blamed for killing three other people, a 52-year-old man in Tecate along the Mexican border and a couple in Escondido. Their bodies were discovered in the charred remains of their hillside home.

Even as evacuees returned home and fire crews began mop-up duties in some areas, the wildfires continued to threaten homes in others.

An aerial assault was helping firefighters corral two blazes in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, a thickly wooded resort area where 313 homes have been lost.

Sean Clevenger's home was a rare sight — part of an oasis of seven unburned houses in a neighborhood that was largely destroyed by fire in the mountain community of Running Springs.

"I still can't believe this is my neighborhood," he said, staring across the street at a plume of flames rising from a broken gas main amid rubble.

"Right there was a red house and everything was green around it," he said. "Now I look out and I see a lot of sky through the trees."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,305282,00.html

[One2Snoop]

This is just awful. The pictures at the link just make you want to cry...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/26/fire.arson/index.html#cnnSTCPhoto


Here's an interactive map that shows where the fires are burning...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/23/fire.map/index.html

As of October 26, 2007 - 1 PM PT

Size - 497,963 acres (765 square miles burned)
Deaths - 7
Arson Arrests - 5
Homes destroyed, 1,641
Active fires - 9
Fires contained - 14

[WarmNCozy]

Schwarzenegger to Arsonists: 'We're Right Behind You'
Santiago Arson Fire Leaves Thousands Homeless


Oct. 27, 2007
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says arsonists behind fires in Southern California should beware -- investigators are on their trail.

"We already know that at least two of the fires were started intentionally," he told the media today. "And two more were of suspicious origin. I want everyone to understand that we will hunt down the people that are responsible for that, and we will arrest them. We will prosecute them to the full extent of the law.

"If I were one of the people who stated the fires," he added, "I would not sleep soundly right now, because we're right behind you. If I would be you, turn yourself in."

Having already identified at least one point of origin for the Santiago fire in Orange County, fire investigators were looking for someone who might at least be a witness -- the driver of a white Ford pickup truck with tubular chrome running boards.

"All I'm saying is this vehicle was traveling along the road at the time of the fire. We just want to talk to the driver," Orange County Fire Chief Chip Prather said.

Schwarzenegger also warned that officials are on the lookout to ensure that fire victms won't be victimized a second time -- by scam artists.

"If anyone tries to exploit this tragedy," he said. "I will make sure that the state of California will do anything possible, that you will pay that debt for the rest of your life."

Game On
Stubborn wildfires still threatened hundreds of homes in Southern California this morning, but in hard-hit San Diego, there have been signs of progress.

Grounds crews have begun painting the field at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium because the game is on: The San Diego Chargers will play at home Sunday in a facility that had been used as an emergency shelter.

Workers bagged up blankets and cleaned up toys at the stadium -- reminders of the largest evacuation in California history, when the home of the Chargers became home to 10,000 evacuees.

"Qualcomm is a place where they could come for that immediate shock, obviously having to evacuate or if they unfortunately lost their homes," San Diego City Councilman Jim Madaffer said.

Heartbreak and Investigation
This weekend, thousands will face heartbreaking homecomings. And there are lingering problems even for those who still have a house -- no electricity, no utilities and in the community of Ramona, no water, in part because desperate homeowners left sprinklers on when they fled.

It's believed all of the heartache and devastation was caused by arson -- and the investigation has only just begun.

Wildland arson investigations involve looking for witnesses and clues, a little like reading signs in the woods to track.

"We look at this tree here, we see a lot of charring to this side of the tree," explained Thomas Derby, Los Angeles Fire Department Investigator. "And as we walk down around the tree, you see this nice clean area, right here. This side of the tree is not burned. So this tells you it came downhill."

By looking at the dirt, they may be able to tell if gasoline or another accelerant was used.

"You may find a discoloration in the dirt. Sometimes an ignitable liquid will change the color in the soil," Derby said.

And they look for some device -- part of which often survives the fire.

"That's really the most basic, the cigarette and the book of matches," he said.

Finding the device helps. Finding a witness is even better.

But arson is one of the hardest crimes to solve. Even if investigators find a suspect very often they need a witness, evidence and a confession.

[WarmNCozy]

DA Asked to Decide Whether to Prosecute Boy Who Allegedly Started L.A. Wildfires

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — Officials blamed a wildfire that consumed more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes last week on a boy playing with matches, and said they would ask a prosecutor to consider the case.

The boy, whose name and age were not released, admitted to sparking the fire on Oct. 21, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Diane Hecht said Tuesday. Ferocious winds helped it quickly spread.

"He admitted to playing with matches and accidentally starting the fire," Hecht said in a statement.

The boy was released to his parents, and the case will be presented to the district attorney's office, Hecht said. It was not clear if he had been arrested or cited by detectives.

The fire began in an area near Agua Dulce and quickly spread. It was among 15 or so major wildfires that destroyed some 2,100 homes and blackened 809 square miles from Los Angeles to the Mexican border last week. Seven deaths were blamed directly on the fires, six evacuees died of natural causes and one person died of a fall.

Authorities arrested five people for arson during that period, but none have been linked to any of the major blazes.All but four of the blazes are now fully contained. Firefighters on Wednesday continued to cut lines around the remaining fires and kept a close eye on the weather.

Forecasters have said moderate Santa Ana winds could pick up later in the week.

Investigators have blamed an arsonist for setting a destructive wildfire in Orange County that blackened 28,500 acres and destroyed 16 homes.

Authorities were seeking the driver of a white Ford F-150 pickup truck spotted in a canyon area around the time the fire broke out. They said they wanted to talk to the driver, but stopped short of calling the person a suspect.

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

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306557,00.html