California Fire Battalion Chief - Whoever Did This Knew What They Were Doing

October 22, 2007

Fire officials are now stating that the Orange County Santiago fire was purposely set and there is speculation that other fires may have also been deliberate. See Interactive Map
Fire officials found three separate “points of origin,” all near the intersection of Silverado Canyon Road and Santiago Canyon Road. Two were on one side of the road, and the third was on the other. “Whoever did this knew what they were doing,” said Kris Concepcion, a fire authority battalion chief. Also, the fire traveled 3 miles in its first 20 minutes when it was ignited about 6 p.m. Sunday, he said.
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We are NOT implying that the California fires are an act of terrorism however; the threat of pyro-terrorist attacks pose a significant risk to the U.S. and the fires in California and in Greece earlier this year should be a wake-up call.
In 2003 an FBI memo alerted law enforcement agencies that an al-Qaeda terrorist being held in detention had talked of masterminding a plot to set a series of devastating forest fires around the western United States.
It was reported that the detainee, who was not identified, said the plan involved three or four people setting wildfires using timed devices in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming that would detonate in forests and grasslands after the operatives had left the country.
“The detainee believed that significant damage to the U.S. economy would result and once it was realized that the fires were terrorist acts, U.S. citizens would put pressure on the U.S. government to change its policies,” the memo said.
How Can So Many Fires Be By Natural Causes ?
A Local News Radio talk show host in San Diego asked, “how can so many fires, in so many places, in such a short period of time, all be caused by natural causes”.
From USA Today in July of 2003
al-Qaeda Detainee Spoke of Fire Plot
The FBI alerted law enforcement agencies last month that an al-Qaeda terrorist now in detention had talked of masterminding a plot to set a series of devastating forest fires around the western United States.

Rose Davis, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, told The Associated Press that officials there took note of the warning but didn’t see a need to act further on it.

The contents of the June 25 memo from the FBI’s Denver office were reported Friday by The Arizona Republic. Davis declined to share a copy of the memo and an FBI spokeswoman in Denver didn’t immediately return a telephone call.

As we have stated before. If you see anything suspicious, report it to law enforcement immediately.

UPDATE: Video - Officials say arson now suspected in Orange County Fire

UPDATE: From Los Angeles Fox News “I’m sad to report this is an arson fire,” OCFA Chief Chip Prather announced at an early morning briefing. “There were three separate starts: two on one side of the road and one on the other, and obviously we are actively investigating that.”

Links - A number of blogs and websites have sprung up to report on the fires. We will provide links to a couple we’ve found.

National Interagency Fire Center

Live Local News Coverage Channel 10 San Diego

Orange County Register

And Still I Persist Sign On San Diego Fire Blog