Possible Break In Deadly SoCal Blaze

Fifth Firefighter Dies As Police Question Man Linked To Earlier Wildfires

(CBS/AP)  A man arrested on charges of setting two wildfires this summer is considered a person of interest in a Southern California mountain fire that claimed its fifth victim.

Raymond Lee Oyler, 36, of Beaumont, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on two counts of arson linked to June wildfires in the Banning Pass area and two counts of possessing fire-making materials, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Oyler was not named as a suspect in the blaze that started last week and roared across more than 60 square miles, but as a person of interest. Bail was set at $25,000 and a court hearing was scheduled for Thursday.

Investigators interviewed Oyler on Friday and then searched his home Monday, the sheriff's department said. No other details were released and it was not known if he had a lawyer.

Whoever did start the fire is also a murderer, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker. Four firefighters were killed the morning it broke out, while a fifth, Pablo Cerda, was burned on 90 percent of his body and clung to life until his struggle ended Tuesday night.

Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley, Calif., died at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

"He was a great fighter," Dr. Dev Gnanadev said outside the hospital. "In the end we did talk to the family and gave them an option of taking him to the operating room again for further surgeries, knowing his prognosis is very, very poor, and they decided to let Pablo go."

A group of U.S. Forest Service firefighters left the hospital with tears in their eyes.

"Today more sadness is added to our almost unbearable grief," said Jeanne Wade Evans, the San Bernardino National Forest supervisor.

The fifth death made it the greatest loss of firefighters in a single incident while battling a wildfire since 14 were killed in July 1994 near Glenwood Springs, Colo., according to the National Interagency Fire Center statistics.

Cerda was in only his second year of fighting fires for the Forest Service. He had planned to begin studying to become a paramedic.

The other victims were the engine captain, Mark Loutzenhiser, 43, of Idyllwild; Jason McKay, 27, of Apple Valley; Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; and Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto.

Authorities said the fire was deliberately set at the base of a slope in Cabazon, west of Palm Springs, as fierce Santa Ana winds hit Southern California. Residents said they saw two young men leaving the area where the fire began.

As part of the arson investigation, authorities have sifted through hundreds of tips and interviewed previously convicted arsonists who live in the area.

On Monday, two people were brought in for questioning and released. A reward for information leading to an arrest has reached $550,000.

The blaze scorched 40,200 acres — or more than 60 square miles — of forest and brush and destroyed 34 homes before being fully contained Monday. Firefighting costs have reached $9.9 million, the California Department of Forestry said.

A public memorial service for the dead firefighters was scheduled for Sunday. Individual firefighter funerals will be private, officials said.

[annie_roxx2]

What kind of sick, pathetic person gets 'kicks' from starting fires? Is is a thrill to be the cause of so much damage and death? 5 counts of murder along with everything else... hope somebody with a conscience turns them in.