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Mother to arsonists: 'Come forward'

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 29, 2006

SOBOBA HOT SPRINGS, Calif. - The mother of one of the four firefighters who died battling a wildfire that authorities blamed on arsonists urged those who set it to turn themselves in Saturday.

"I firmly believe you didn't believe that things were going to turn out the way they did, but they did," said Bonnie McKay, whose son Jason, 27, died Thursday. "Don't let the remorse eat you alive. Come forward. ... I for one will try not to judge you. There is only one who can judge you."

Meanwhile, firefighters took advantage of calm weather and dissipating Santa Ana winds, making headway against the 62-square-mile conflagration by dumping water and retardant on flames using a fleet of helicopters and airplanes, including a DC-10 jumbo jet.

"Today is a turning point that will tell if our containment survives," said Janet Upton, a California Forestry Department spokeswoman at the command post in Beaumont, 90 miles east of Los Angeles.

The 39,900-acre blaze was 40 percent contained, two days after blowtorch gusts overran a Forest Service crew, killing four of its members and leaving a fifth clinging to life with burns over most of his body.

Fire officials said there had been six other minor injuries to firefighters and, after completion of damage assessments, raised the number of destroyed homes to 27, up from earlier estimates of 10.

Evacuation orders remained in effect for about 500 homes in Twin Pines and Poppet Flat, communities where homes burned. Residents were allowed back in for several hours to retrieve personal items and feed or remove animals.

Forecasters predicted winds would ease and temperatures would drop slightly throughout the weekend, which could help as crews work to build fire lines around the blaze.

[Last modified October 29, 2006, 00:51:53]