#1 One of the larger California fires suspected arson
Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 12:38 pm
CNN
The Minx is not happy.ORANGE COUNTY, California (CNN) -- One of the larger fires in Southern California is a suspected arson, a fire official confirmed Thursday.
The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Orange County Fire Authority are investigating the Santiago Fire, which has burned more than 22,000 acres, Orange County Fire Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion told CNN.
"The reason we think it is [arson] is because we found multiple points of origin," Concepcion said. "... Our investigators have confirmed that this is, in fact, arson."
Concepcion would not say how the fire was started, but said evidence indicated the arsonist wanted the fire to grow rapidly.
All three of its points of origin are considered crime scenes, said Jim Amornino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
A $70,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible for setting the fire. No suspects have been identified.
The state established a toll-free arson tip line at 800-540-7085. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said anyone convicted of arson would be dealt with harshly.
Concepcion said about 1,100 firefighters were working on controlling the blaze, which has destroyed at least 22 structures. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the fire was only 30 percent contained Thursday morning after being 50 percent contained the day before.
Concepcion said onshore winds Thursday morning should help firefighters "get the upper hand on this thing."
The arsonist's motive was a mystery to Concepcion.
"That's the part that I really can't figure out, to tell you the truth," he told CNN. "That individual knew on Sunday when this fire started that we had, really, the perfect storm, if you will. We had the heavy Santa Ana winds, we had the low relative humidities, we had the high temperatures.
"And then for someone to even think about doing something as reprehensible as starting a fire where they knew the fire would grow as rapidly as it would -- traveling about three, 3 ½ miles in about an hour -- is just really absolutely unconscionable," he said.
The smaller Rosa fire in Riverside County, 100 percent contained at 411 acres Thursday morning, was also probably arson, state officials said.
In San Bernardino County, a 48-year-old Hesperia man was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with setting a small fire along a rural roadside near Victorville.
Passers-by reported seeing a man crouching near the fire, the county sheriff's office spokeswoman Jodi Miller said. The man fled on a motorcycle and the witnesses put out the fire with shovels and dirt, Miller said.
A police helicopter spotted a motorcycle with a rider matching the witnesses' description, and John Alfred Rund was arrested at a residence. Investigators have not connected Rund with any other fires, Miller said.
"This guy's getting way more attention than he's worthy," she said.
Rund was to be arraigned Thursday morning in Victorville. He was being held in lieu of $750,000 bail.