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Calif. blaze continues to tear through canyon

The reward hits $500,000 for information on who started a wildfire that killed four firefighters.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 28, 2006

BEAUMONT, Calif. - As flames roared through the canyons of Southern California, authorities increased the reward to $500,000 Friday for the arrest of the arsonist responsible for the deaths of four firefighters in the nation's worst such tragedy in five years.

A fifth firefighter lay in grave condition with burns over 90 percent of his body.

Firefighters labored through thick smoke as curtains of wind-whipped flames pushed through brushland about 90 miles east of Los Angeles. The blaze that broke out Thursday destroyed about 10 structures, including homes, forced 700 people to flee, and flushed coyotes and other wildlife into the open.

Investigators have not said how they know the nearly 40-square-mile blaze was arson, how it was set, or why. But they said those responsible could face murder charges.

More than 1,700 firefighters worked to corral the flames. Winds gusted to 45 mph but kept the flames moving through undeveloped land, away from homes in Riverside County. Mop-up work was under way in the mountain communities where the flames swept through Thursday. Hundreds of people left an RV park where they had taken refuge, and many other families returned to their homes.

The U.S. Forest Service firefighters were killed on Thursday when the wind blew a wall of flames down on them in the hills near Palm Springs.

Michael Wakowski of the San Bernardino National Forest said it did not appear the crew did anything wrong. "Sometimes things go bad," he said.

Killed were Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, 44; Jess McLean, 27; Jason McKay, 27; and Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20. Pablo Cerda, 23, was in grave condition.

Investigators were looking into whether the fire was related to a blaze Sunday in nearby Mias Canyon. "There's been a lot of fires in this area all summer long. You can connect the dots," Wakowski said.

[Last modified October 28, 2006, 00:26:09]