California fire reward rises to $500,000
Wildfire kills four US firefighters
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Saturday, 28, Oct 2006 04:23
The reward for information regarding a seemingly deliberately started forest fire in the US state of California in which four firefighters have been killed has risen to more than $500,000 (£260,000).
State governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose department has contributed $100,000 towards the reward, said citizens would "not take for granted" the fire services' contribution, with a fifth firefighter in serious condition in hospital after suffering 90 per cent burns to his body.
Mr Schwarzenegger's pledge adds to earlier donations from the fire service, government agencies and US citizens.
"This is a very sad day for California, and I want to let the families and friends of these brave men know that all Californians are heartbroken, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.
"The people who fight fires are amongst the bravest men and women anywhere. We must never take for granted the hard work, the sacrifices, the dangers that they deal with. Anyone that is risking their own life to save others is a true hero," the governor, who has declared a state of emergency, said.
He went on to say: "I've instructed the California department of forestry and fire protection and my entire administration to put every resource into fighting this fire, making sure that evacuees have everything that they need, and as soon as we can, we will go down and visit the firefighters at the scene."
The four dead firefighters have been named as Captain Mark Loutzenhiser, 44; Jess McLean, 27; Jason McCay, 27; and Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, while 23-year-old Pablo Cerda is currently receiving treatment in hospital.
More than 24,000 acres of desert community have now been scorched just west of Palm Springs in California.
Captain John Hawkins of the Riverside County fire department said the so-called Esperanza fire was started at about 01:00 local time (10:00 BST) on Thursday in a remote mountainous area.
Dry forceful winds resulted in the fire spreading rapidly across the desert brushland, blackening the area, forcing hundreds of people from their homes and also trapping more than 1,000 residents within a rural recreational vehicle park.
The firefighters were killed while they attempted to save a remote house early in the day. Erratic winds caught them unprepared, killing three at the scene.
Speaking at the scene, a clearly emotional Captain Hawkins said: "This is a deliberately-set arson fire. A deliberately-set fire that leads to the death of anyone constitutes murder.
"It appeared to have been set in a place where it would spread the fastest and cause the most damage."
Commenting on the ongoing efforts to gain control of the blaze and of the people trapped in the park, he added: "We are doing better with it. We are saying five per cent containment. That might not sound like a lot but it really, truly is.
"The [trapped people] are in a sheltered in place, which means we could not evacuate them in time. They're going to encounter heat and smoke but they are probably going to be OK. We have fire-fighters with those people."
The fire has become the most deadly for emergency services since the Thirtymile fire of July 10th 2001 which killed four firefighters in Washington's Okanogan National Forest.