A brush fire blamed on arsonists swept through the desert hills near Palm Springs yesterday, killing four firefighters, sending residents fleeing and trapping hundreds more in a rural park for recreational vehicles.
Whipped by warm winds after a long, dry summer, the fire roared out of control through about 24 000 acres in less than 24 hours, destroying at least 10 homes and engulfing a firetruck, fire officials said. By nightfall, the fire line stretched 24km along canyons and rugged hills 145km east of Los Angeles and 27km northwest of Palm Springs.
But Riverside County Fire Department Chief John Hawkins said the more than 1,000 firefighters were finally making progress. "We are doing better with it. We are saying 5% containment. That might not sound like a lot but it really, truly is."
Crew to work throughout the night
He said crews would work through the night despite strong winds and acrid billowing clouds of smoke. "We are going to hit it hard," he told a news conference. Hawkins said the fire was caused by arson and that the deaths of the firefighters were being treated as homicide. "A deliberately set fire that leads to the death of anyone constitutes murder."
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