Posted on 10/31/2006 2:06:02 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Investigators are seen at a house in Cabazon, Calif. near the site of the deadly Esperanza wildfire.
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CABAZON, Calif. — One of the "persons of interest" police are questioning as they probe who started a Southern California that killed four firefighters and charred more than 60 square miles of brushland is a convicted arsonist, FOX News has learned.
The fire was fully contained Tuesday as the investigation into who set the blaze moved into high gear. Authorities also picked over the spot where the blaze started last Thursday, at the base of a slope in Cabazon, west of Palm Springs. The fire spread quickly as fierce winds blew through the region. Before firefighters contained it Monday, the blaze scorched 40,200 acres and destroyed 34 homes.
At the crime scene Tuesday, investigators planted blue, red and yellow flags attached to wire stakes to mark the locations of possible evidence. Part of the charred hillside was marked by a grid of pegs and string.
Riverside County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Earl Quintana confirmed to FOX News that three people — two young men and a young woman — are considered "persons of interest" in connection with their investigation of the Esperanza fire that critically injured a fifth firefighter. Investigators swooped down Monday on a home only one-quarter mile from where the deadly fire was started last week and took them into custody for questioning. They were later released but questioning continued Tuesday.
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I heard on KTLA this morning that they found drugs in the house and that the male suspect had an arson on his record. The male suspect set fire to a mobile home. A neighbor told the reporter that they were troublemakers. Cans of fuel were found in the garage. The fire was started less than a quarter mile from their house.
They may have the perps...
On our local CBS radio affiliate (KMJ) this morning, another neighbor said they were polite kids and had been released almost immediately from custody.
Hmmmm....Vidor....skinhead....hatecrime.....arson. Could be.
I would definitely not want to be one of those "persons."
KFI seemed to have a different scoop on them...including one of them that had burned up a trailer house some years back .
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