Calif. Wildfire Sparks Homicide Probe

Massive L.A.-Area Blaze Now 38 Percent Contained; Arson Confirmed and Hunt is On for Suspects

(CBS/AP)  Last updated at 9:08 p.m. EDT

The U.S. Forest Service said arson is the cause of the wildfire north of Los Angeles that killed two firefighters. Deputies have launched a homicide investigation.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is looking for the person who set the fire that's destroyed more than five dozen homes and burned 226 square miles.

Earlier Thursday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured a fire-ravaged community Thursday where a wildfire left dozens of homes in ruins, encountering piles of twisted metal and rubble as firefighters began to bring the blaze under greater control.

The blaze was 38 percent contained Thursday, up from 28 percent the previous day. The fire is one of the largest wildfires in Southern California history.

Schwarzenegger talked to residents about their losses and later thanked firefighters for all of their work in putting out the flames. At one point during the tour, the former bodybuilder picked up a 30-pound barbell located amid the wreckage.

"Even though we are still battling those fires, we are now trying to help get people's lives rebuilt," Schwarzenegger said. "When you see this kind of devastation, it's horrible to lose your home, your personal belongings."

Despite the overall progress against the fire, firefighters dealt with a flare-up overnight in a remote canyon as strong downslope winds "just kind of blew the fire up," said U.S. Forest Service official John Huschke. Twenty-five people in 11 homes were evacuated in the canyon area.

The wildfire, now in its eighth day, has destroyed 64 homes, burned three people and left two firefighters dead. During the night, a firefighter injured his leg when he fell 20 foot from a cliff and was taken to a hospital by a medical helicopter, officials said. He was in stable condition.

At 226 square miles, it is the largest wildfire in Los Angeles County history, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes.

Full containment was expected Sept. 15, meaning fire officials expect that they will have the blaze completely surrounded by then.

Cindy and Duncan Payne's home in the Angeles National Forest was one of the 64 destroyed. The Payne family says they got no warning to evacuate and that this tragedy could have been avoided, Hughes reports. The problem: they couldn't get approval to clear brush around their home.

Local officials are also questioning the U.S. Forest Service for not clearing enough brush on land that abuts foothill homes.

"We want to see other agencies ... act responsibly in taking care of that brush issues," L.A. Fire Marshall Jim Hill said on KNX radio. "We don't think that this sets a very good example for a federal agency."

But the Forest Service, which planned to burn off combustible vegetation earlier this year, defends its actions. "This year, with the weather and the drought and all of that, we - last couple of years, actually - we have had very, very few days that have allowed us to do prescribed burning," said forest supervisor Jody Noiron.

California Senator Barbara Boxer today called for more federal money for brush clearance.

Some 12,000 homes in foothill communities below the fire's southeastern edge officially remained threatened, although other communities farther west that were under siege for days were out of danger.

Many homes were saved, but damaged areas looked like war zones to some returning evacuees.

"It's like, is this really our house? Is it really still here?" T.J. Lynch said about returning to his home in the Tujunga neighborhood late Wednesday. "Because we had made peace with the fact that we'd never see our stuff again."

"It looks like nothing changed, but when the sun comes up tomorrow, I expect we'll see the hills blackened and gray," the screenwriter said. "We'll hike up the hill and see how close it came to our neighbors."

And in another reminder today of the stubborn Station Fire's toll - an official escort accompanied fallen firefighter Arnold Quinones back to his hometown, Hughes reports. His wife is expecting their first child in weeks.

Firefighters have been conducting an aerial assault on the fire to complement efforts on the ground. Helicopters have doused the fire with 1.7 million gallons of water - enough to fill about three Olympic-sized swimming pools - while airplanes have dropped 670,000 gallons of retardant on the fire.

"We're changing the pace and treating this as a marathon," U.S. Forest Service incident commander Mike Dietrich said. "If it were a 26-mile race, we'd only be at mile six."

There were growing signs that Los Angeles was looking to move beyond the fire.

The UCLA football team earlier in the week feared it might have to postpone its home opener on Saturday because the fire is so close to the Rose Bowl, its home stadium. But the school said Thursday that the game will be played as scheduled.

Schwarzenegger got an earful from some residents as he toured the community of Vogel Flats in Big Tujunga Canyon, where most of the 40 homes were leveled by the blaze.

Bert Voorhees, 53, who lost his 800 square-foot home, wondered why firefighters didn't have aircraft or strike crews available before the fire raced into the canyon over the weekend and wiped out the mountain community.

"I just know a terrible mistake was made in this canyon," said Voorhees, a civil rights lawyer. "It's much bigger than this canyon. The fact that it cost two guys (firefighters) their lives, it's like bigger than any of this."

Voorhees suggested that fire officials bowed to political pressure and opted to protect richer neighborhoods to show off its aerial assault instead of snuffing out the fire when it was in its infancy.

Fire officials denied they were influenced by legislators where to put firefighters and equipment. They said they were willing to meet with residents about what happened.

The search for what sparked the blaze intensified Wednesday when U.S. Forest Service investigators gathered along a road in a blackened forest to hunt for clues near where the fire started. They shook soil in a can and planted red, blue and yellow flags to mark evidence beneath a partially burned oak tree at the bottom of a ravine.

Deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph said the fire was "human-caused," meaning it could have been started by anything from a dropped cigarette to a spark from something like a lawn mower. Forest Service officials said there was no lightning in the area at the time and no power lines in the vicinity, but later backtracked on Joseph's comments, saying they are looking at all possible causes.

"The only thing I can say is it is possibly human activity," Forest Service Commander Rita Wears said.

The fire also cast a smoky haze over the Los Angeles area and gave the night sky an eerie glow. The smoke spread throughout the West, affecting air quality in Las Vegas and combining with soot from local fires to block mountain views in Denver.

[SkirtLifter]

How much would you like to bet? If they catch the arsonist, he's a multiple recitivistic sociopath. How much?

[dragon8me]

What if it was the DEA that started it to blame the growers? I wouldn't put anything past these guys. They have no problem killing inocent people and trying to frame them afterthe fact to cover their mistakes. Like an old lady down south several years ago. The busted down her door, she thought it was a home invasion and got her gun and they killed her, latter it was found it was the wrong house. Then theres the Babpist preacher recently killed in Georga, no drugs found. The list goes on. Between the DEA and drug cartels many more will die as "colateral damage" because of prohibition.
"Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." -- Abraham Lincoln December, 1840

[gangesdak]

California and other states must consider arson in the wild a capital offence. After they string up a couple of arsonists things may improve.

[bubbadubba]

"Tanks for all da wark you done fire fiders. Sorry I cut da budget and get zome of you kilt und I led peoples put profitz above zafety" Arnold

I have known many Austrians and Germans who have never been in the US and they speak perfect English. Arnold is definitely special needs and you can tell by the way he tries to talk. I asked someone who speaks German and they said when Arnold speaks in German he sounds special needs too.
I would use the "R" word but that might offend someone.

[cs4466]

"Arson caused LA wildfire".

Uh-huh. And, aside from an arsonist sending in a video with him on camera showing how and where he did it, how in the world do you come up with conclusive evidence for something like this? They can't even say exactly HOW it was done, so how can they say it was arson? I'm glad our jury trials aren't conducted like this.

[dragon8me]

Have you noticed how every time theres a fire there its always arson, especially when someone dies. They always want someone to blame. It could have been, who knows. But with all the attention to pot growers that seems to be the target, but think about it. If you were doing something illegal would you do something like that and draw attention to yourself, come on, get real. If they did start it, it wasnt on purpose. And if it turns out these guys are responsible it is another reason to end prohibition. These cartels will never be defeted with force. Only by taking away their profit, their incentive, can you end the violence.

[bubbadubba]

The People of California just can't win.
If they clear the vegetation to prevent wildfires, they get flooding and mud slides that destroy homes and kill people.
If they don't clear the vegetation, they get destroyed homes and deaths from fires.
Heaven forbid they not build where there is a low risk, that would be terrible.
I was wondering, where do those people get homeowner's insurance?
What idiot company would insure them?

[lloydbest1]

Bubba, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you:

They shouldn't build or live in those wooded and wild areas to begin with. I know that sounds harsh and I would not take too kindly to being told I couldn't live anywhere I chose.

But it is time those who chose to live in those fire prone areas to rethink how important it is to live so close to nature, to have that spectacular view, to live in that idyllic, bucholic setting.

"Heaven forbid they not build where there is a low risk, that would be terrible."

'Fraid that is the most sensible thing these folks can do. As much as I hate to say it, the only permanent solution to this tragedy of wildfire invasions is to clear out - and stay out. Give it all back to nature because She's gonna take it anyway on her whim.