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3 firefighters die battling California wildfire

CABAZON, Calif. — A wind-driven wildfire near Palm Springs engulfed a fire engine today, killing three firefighters, and up to 400 people were trapped in a recreational vehicle park when flames blocked the only road out, officials said.

"Everybody is hunkered down here. They're fighting the fire around us. It's across the street from us," said Charles Van Brunt, a ranger at the station at the entrance to Silent Valley Club. The residents were in no immediate danger, he said.

Two other firefighters in the burned-out fire engine were critically injured, said Pat Boss, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman.

The firefighters were trying to protect a house as hot Santa Ana winds drove flames through the desert hills northwest of Palm Springs and forced hundreds of people from their homes.

"The engine was in the area, and with the wind conditions like they were, the fire just overtakes and burns the entire engine," Boss said.

He said the Forest Service pulled all its personnel off the fire after the deaths so they could "gather their thoughts, say their prayers."

The fire quickly blackened more than six square miles and destroyed at least three homes. The weather service had issued a "red flag" warning for extreme fire danger because of high winds — 25 mph or more — and dry conditions.

Thick smoke blanketed the small RV park off Highway 243, where as many as 400 people were trapped, authorities said. TV footage showed some vehicles racing through flames and smoke just before firefighters closed the road.

Van Brunt said people were advised to "watch the news and stay comfy."

The cause of the wildfire was not immediately clear. It started early Thursday, burning in a valley with a few scattered ranch homes. The hamlets of Poppet Ranch and Twin Pines were evacuated along with a juvenile detention center, Twin Pines Boys Ranch.

Evacuations were ordered, and by early morning, about 200 people had left their homes, fire Capt. Julie Hutchinson said.

Officials worried the flames could reach an area of the San Bernardino National Forest where a bark beetle infestation had killed trees that could easily fuel a blaze.

In the valley where the fire was burning, the ground cover is mostly grass and chaparral that burns fast and hot.

"The biggest concern is if it gets over the hills," said Becky Luther, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Fire Department. "That's where all of the homes are."

Timo Hargu, 61, said he rushed from his hilltop home with his two dogs after he looked out a window and saw fire burning toward him in a valley.

"The whole thing was ablaze with flame," he said. "It was the most spectacular view. A terrible view, but spectacular."

Cabazon is about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.

There is now a 4th firefighter that is lost and there are many people cut off that cannot evacuate from the area.

Four deaths in arson fire bring murder charges, reward offered

POPPET FLAT, Calif. A 100-thousand-dollar reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the person that started a big, deadly wildfire in southern California.
The fire killed four firefighters and critically injured a fifth. It has also blackened ten-thousand acres.

A fire official says because the blaze was deliberately set, it "constitutes murder."

The Forest Service crew was trying to protect a house as dry desert winds of 25 miles-per-hour or more blew a wall of flames down on them in the hills northwest of Palm Springs.

A Forest Service spokesman says three of the firefighters died at the scene and two were hospitalized in critical condition. One of those two died several hours later. The other has burns over 95 percent of his body.