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BEAUMONT, Calif. - A man arrested on charges of setting two wildfires this summer is considered a person of interest in a Southern California mountain fire that claimed its fifth victim.
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Raymond Lee Oyler, 36, of Beaumont, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on two counts of arson linked to June wildfires in the Banning Pass area and two counts of possessing fire-making materials, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
Oyler was not named as a suspect in the blaze that started last week and roared across more than 60 square miles, but as a person of interest. Bail was set at $25,000 and a court hearing was scheduled for Thursday.
Investigators interviewed Oyler on Friday and then searched his home Monday, the sheriff's department said. No other details were released and it was not known if he had a lawyer.
Four U.S. Forest Service firefighters died shortly after the latest blaze began Thursday when they tried to protect a home from wind-driven flames in the San Jacinto Mountains, 90 miles east of Los Angeles.
A fifth firefighter, Pablo Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley, died Tuesday evening at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. He had suffered burns over 90 percent of his body.
"He was a great fighter," Dr. Dev Gnanadev said outside the hospital. "In the end we did talk to the family and gave them an option of taking him to the operating room again for further surgeries, knowing his prognosis is very, very poor, and they decided to let Pablo go."
A group of U.S. Forest Service firefighters left the hospital with tears in their eyes.
"Today more sadness is added to our almost unbearable grief," said Jeanne Wade Evans, the San Bernardino National Forest supervisor.
The fifth death made it the greatest loss of firefighters in a single incident while battling a wildfire since 14 were killed in July 1994 near Glenwood Springs, Colo., according to the National Interagency Fire Center statistics.
Cerda was in only his second year of fighting fires for the Forest Service. He had planned to begin studying to become a paramedic.
The other victims were the engine captain, Mark Loutzenhiser, 43, of Idyllwild; Jason McKay, 27, of Apple Valley; Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; and Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto.
Authorities said the fire was deliberately set at the base of a slope in Cabazon, west of Palm Springs, as fierce Santa Ana winds hit Southern California. Residents said they saw two young men leaving the area where the fire began.
As part of the arson investigation, authorities have sifted through hundreds of tips and interviewed previously convicted arsonists who live in the area.
On Monday, two people were brought in for questioning and released. A reward for information leading to an arrest has reached $550,000.
The blaze scorched 40,200 acres or more than 60 square miles of forest and brush and destroyed 34 homes before being fully contained Monday. Firefighting costs have reached $9.9 million, the California Department of Forestry said.
A public memorial service for the dead firefighters was scheduled for Sunday. Individual firefighter funerals will be private, officials said.
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Associated Press
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It would be great if he was the one.......I am sure the firefighters, police and families are anxious to catch the person behind this...
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Everyone is anxious in catching the person responsible for this.
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I honestly think they should have a spot out on the whitehouse lawn for high profile things like this. You shoot somebody, you get shot on camera in front of the whole nation. Fire fighters die putting out your fire, then they set you ablaze right there on camera etc.. etc..
RD
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You Know How They Do It!
:D
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If its him, I hope they hang him!
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If its him, I hope they hang him!
by his nuts over a fire!
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You Know How They Do It!
:D
You beat me to it!!
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I Saw A Report That The Eyewitness Said There Were Two Men
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I honestly think they should have a spot out on the whitehouse lawn for high profile things like this. You shoot somebody, you get shot on camera in front of the whole nation. Fire fighters die putting out your fire, then they set you ablaze right there on camera etc.. etc..
RD
Even though RD Sux, I'm with him on this thought.
