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Investigators are seen at a house in Cabazon, Calif. near the site of the deadly Esperanza wildfire. *********************************** 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 ESPERANZA ARSON WILDFIREThis is the personal story of a very brave CDF Dispatcher from Riverside County Volunteer Fire Station 63 located in Poppet Flats. Monday, October 30, 2006 12:36 PM Subject: Fire update from Poppet Flats Here is a report of what happened on Thursday, 10/27/06 in Poppet Flats. My pager went off at 2 am on Thursday morning not sure what day, they have all run together. I am in charge of calling all of our firemen at Station 63, since my antique pager is the only one that works up here in the mountains. I have been a...

FIREFIGHTERS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HAMPERED BY WINDS & LOW HUMIDITY High pressure today has sent more gusty east winds into the mountains, passes and canyons of Southern California as firefighters attempt to gain the upper hand on a fast-moving wildfire in Riverside County. Fox News Channel is reporting another brush fire has erupted in Orange County. Wind Advisories are in effect through this evening. The combination of winds gusting up to 45 mph and extremely low humidity will keep the fire danger at an extreme level into Saturday. By Sunday, an onshore flow will calm the winds and bring moist...

(AP) BEAUMONT, Calif. About 1,750 firefighters Friday battled a wind-driven wildfire that scorched more than 25,000 acres in Riverside County, killing four firefighters, destroying 10 homes and threatening 500 more. Meanwhile, a manhunt involving several agencies was under way for the "scum" who set the blaze.The fire, which grew explosively in a 24-hour period because of powerful Santa Ana winds, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of residents, was 5 percent contained this morning, according to fire commanders. The Esperanza Fire broke out in the San Gorgonio Riverbed at Esperanza Avenue just after 1 a.m. yesterday and was quickly determined to...

CABAZON - An arsonist's despicable touch killed four U.S. Forest Service firefighters and left a fifth fighting for his life Thursday while nearly 1,000 of their colleagues struggled to restrain a fast-moving wind-propelled wildfire that burned along the base of the San Jacinto Mountains. Enraged officials promised to catch whoever intentionally set the blaze around 1 a.m. in dry grass along a winding stretch of Esperanza Road in Cabazon. The problem, though, will be trying to make an arrest in a crime that is typically one of the hardest for authorities to solve. "You will not rest," Riverside County Undersheriff...

California Watches and Warnings National Weather Service Zone - CAZ042 SGXNPWSGX WWUS76 KSGX 251746 NPWSGX URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA 1046 AM PDT WED OCT 25 2006 SANTA ANA WINDS EXPECTED TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY... .DEVELOPING OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CAUSE LOCAL STRONG GUSTY SANTA ANA WINDS TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE THROUGH AND BELOW MOUNTAIN CANYONS AND PASSES THURSDAY MORNING. CAZ048-057-260315- /O.UPG.KSGX.HW.A.0004.061026T1200Z-061028T1800Z/ /O.NEW.KSGX.HW.W.0005.061026T0300Z-061027T0300Z/ SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE- SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS- 1046 AM PDT WED OCT 25 2006 HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING...

CABAZON, Calif. -- A fast-moving fire killed at least three firefighters, prompted mandatory evacuations and burned more than 4,000 acres in Riverside County this morning, officials said. The Esperanza fire in Cabazon, some 90 miles east of Los Angeles and about 20 miles northwest of Palm Springs, was reported at 1:12 a.m., Becky Luther, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Fire Department, said in a telephone interview. "It's a very serious fire," Luther said. "There are Santa Ana conditions and the fire is fast moving." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told reporters that three firefighters were killed fighting the blaze. The U.S....