Posted on 10/23/2007 2:44:10 PM PDT by NorthernRight
Edited on 10/23/2007 5:40:31 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
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.
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
USA Today/Gannett publication article removed.
al-Qaeda Detainee Spoke of Fire Plot
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
Written by News Admin · Filed Under Incident Reports
My girlfriend’s sister is a police officer there and she was forced to evacuate
Geeeez,, thanks for your input, oh holier than thou one.
This state has a long history of such fires, and the death and destruction they cause. So who the heck are you to be telling us about evcuations from the safety of whatever rabbit hutch you're posting from, dude?
If somebody burning down 700+ houses isn’t terrorism (albeit domestic) I sure don’t know what is! :*(
Prayers for all involved with the consequences of these fires!
BORing, as usual. [yawn]
The truth will out.
but ... Harry Reid said it was due to global warming?
Try to remember those words the next time Dorothy, Toto and the farm get sucked into one of those skyscraper-sized funnels your state’s known for.
Next thing you know, Harry will be suggesting that Bush struck the match.
If memory serves, one of the huge fires in Arizona a few years back was set by a firefighter/arsonist. If you're looking for a fellow who knows what he's doing ... a firefighter is a good first guess.
Apparently it's not all that uncommon for pyros to become firefighters.
My guess is a pyro who happens to be a firefighter.
Somebody out there must be really furious at their neighbor(s).
Yeah...its taken care of by “Lister-marine”
True.
Thailand?
An underlying problem with the CA fires, NOLA drowning, Atlanta drought*, etc. is that society in general has this crazy notion that people can build anything they want where they want and expect no consequences - and if there are horrible consequences, somehow it's the government's fault.
C'mon, people!
- Build an all-wood home without a firebreak and fire suppression system in the dryest part of the country famous for annual fires - and if it burns, it's the government's fault?
- Build below sea level by the coastline with just a decades-old lowest-bidder scrawny wall to hold back the ocean - and if it drowns, it's the government's fault?
- Build a million homes in an area subject to less water accumulation than usage - and when the [all-manmade] lakes run dry, it's the government's fault?
It's the nature of any population to strain the limits of its environment at times. The consequences are very predictable. Humans should be smarter than this. (Heck, _I_ should be smarter than this.)
Whether the breaking point is caused naturally (lightning, hurricanes, drought) or deliberately (jihadi arson, GWB blasting the dike, Corps overwatering bivales, maniacs with boxcutters), residents of a information-saturated advanced society should prepare & react to such crisies in a manner born of "yes, it CAN happen to ME".
Tempting fate and then whining that complete strangers didn't do something about it should not be tolerated.
* - something I'm learning about the hard way
Additionaly....good to see you. How are things there?
Wow. Just ... wow. Dang ... like, I ... Charles Babbage put it well:
I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a [notion].
good, just busy. You?
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