By LAURA MECOY
Monday, October 30, 2006
Four firefighters died when a wind-whipped wildfire started by an arsonist swept through Riverside County's rugged hills and valleys on Thursday, devouring at least 10 homes and forcing the evacuation of some 600 residents.
A fifth firefighter was critically injured in the fast-moving Esperanza fire.
The blaze spread so quickly that about 500 people in a private recreational vehicle park in an area known as Silent Valley couldn't be evacuated. Fire crews stayed on the scene to keep them safe.
"They are going to encounter heat and smoke, but they will probably be OK," said John Hawkins, California Department of Forestry chief for the Riverside office.
He said an arsonist set the blaze in the Riverside County community of Cabazon around 1:15 a.m. Hawkins said the fire was set so that it would race up a hillside and directly into the Santa Ana winds.
The winds, which fire officials said were gusting up to 50 mph, spread the Esperanza fire quickly along the southern side of Interstate 10.
It consumed more than 12,000 acres by nightfall Thursday, and fire officials estimated they had just 10 percent of it contained.
Hawkins said the firefighters who died were trying to protect a home near Twin Pines in the San Jacinto Mountains when flames overran their engine company.
"This is a deliberately-set arson fire, and a deliberately-set arson that causes the death of anyone constitutes murder," he said.
Riverside County supervisors promised a $100,000 reward to find the culprit, and Supervisor Marion Ashley urged residents to "turn that scum in, please."
In the country's deadliest firefighting disaster since 2001, three of the firefighters died at the scene. The fourth firefighter died later at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.
The fifth firefighter was in critical condition with burns on 90 percent of his body, according to Forest Service spokesman John Miller.
"It is a burn over so they were caught in a fast moving fire. Now, what caused that, how they got into that position will be investigated and determined later," said Ruben Grijalva, state Department of Forestry and Fires Protection director. "They were actively engaged in firefighting at the time."
The firefighters were U.S. Forest Service employees in the San Bernardino Mountains, and Forest Service spokeswoman Allison Stewart said most of the rest of the agency's San Bernardino staff was pulled off the fire after the deaths.
"These people were heroes, and they did what they do every single day and they did it with no reservations," said Stewart.
She said other firefighters were on the scene to assist the injured, and a firefighting helicopter airlifted them immediately to the Colton hospital.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency and issued a statement, calling it a "very sad day for California...The people who fight fires are among the bravest anywhere, and we must never take for granted the hard work, the sacrifices, the dangers they deal with," he said. "Anyone who risks their own life to save others is a true hero."
Nearly 1,000 firefighters were on the scene with additional troops expected Friday.
Aircraft worked throughout the day trying to quench the ravenous flames, while hand crews and engine companies battled the blaze on the ground.
But the Esperanza fire continued its southwesterly march, heading for sparsely populated area known as the "Badlands." Grijalva, state Department of Forestry and Fires Protection director, said officials had told about 2,000 residents to be prepared to evacuate.
Flames licked down mountainsides, advancing toward Interstate 10 throughout the day and creating an eerie glow in the night sky.
Evacuees watched the fire and the huge plume of smoke with trepidation as they shared stories of the harrowing escapes from their homes in the rural communities of Twin Pines and Poppet Flats.
Victor Miner, a 74-year-old retiree, said he'd lost his home, and his 44-year-old son suffered burns on his hands and face when he drove his new tractor through a wall of flames.
"The wind changed, and all we could do was get out with our lives," he said.
Miner said his son left without him, and fire crews blocked his car, preventing him leaving the driveway of his home.
Miner said the fire surrounded him with flames leaping 100 feet into the air and leaving charred marks on his car.
He said the blaze generated so much heat that he couldn't touch the glass in his car.
"I was stuck there for an hour while the fire burned around me," Miner said.
His Twin Pines home of five years was engulfed in flames by the time the firefighters determined he could safely leave, he said.
"This is all I got," Miner said, pointing to the clothing he was wearing.
His son was treated and released from a local hospital.
Howard Graham, a 67-year-old chef and child care worker, said he had to evacuate his Poppet Flats home so quickly that he left behind his cat and hundreds of pieces of his art. He said he had only the clothes he was wearing and his car.
"It didn't bother me until I got down here and sat down," Graham said. "And then the tears started coming. Everything in my life is in my house."
Loretta and James Goble had more time to gather their belongings, but they feared the dream home they'd built among 200-year-old oaks in Twin Pines would be lost to the fire.
"The flames came over the ridge, less than a quarter mile away," James Goble said. "I could feel the heat." He said the fire swept past him but glowing embers were swirling about.
"I didn't even turn the hose on the fire," he said. "The fire was so massive that I figured it would be just like spitting on a barbecue."
Grijalva, the state fire director, said firefighters will likely be battling the blaze at least through Saturday because of the high winds sweeping through the area.
"That makes this a challenging firefight," he said. "We hope to gain some progress on it and we'll probably be fighting this through the weekend."
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