UPDATE: ATF, FBI et al Offer $50k Reward SoCal Arsonist Shot Dead
UPDATE from CBS News:
CBS News has learned a task force of agencies, including the FBI, ATF, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Forestry will announce shortly that the massive Santiago Canyon Fire - which has caused an estimated $10 million in damage - is being officially declared an arson, and a $50,000 reward is being offered to find the arsonist.
Investigators have identified two separate “points of origin” where they believe the fire was set, CBS News has learned. FBI agents secured the scene to “maintain its integrity.” California authorities and FBI agents searched a home Wednesday as part of the arson investigation.
I’ll take my teeth out of this story as soon as they have a clearer direction that points away from a terrorism angle…call it a hunch, I don’t want to drop this one just yet. ~Bash
EARLIER I wrote: Ya know, I am curious to see who this guy was. Is it possible, and I am just speculating here, that this is perhaps one of those lone “rogue wannabe” jihadi sympathizers? Or could these fires have all been started by an organized terror group, with knowledge of Santa Ana Winds, and how wildfires spread in that region?
I would think that if it was an organized terror group, they would come right out and claim responsibility, but that isn’t always the case.
Whatever the case may be, our thoughts and prayers are with the unprecedented Firestorm refugees in Southern California. I know that the term “refugees” conjures up images of war, and massive tent cities with little skinny babies covered in flies, but these people are refugees nonetheless.
Over 1 million people not in their homes today…
~Bash
From the LA Times:
A suspected arsonist was shot and killed by San Bernardino police last night, authorities said.
The man was spotted in a remote, brushy area behind Cal State San Bernardino, said Lt. Scott Patterson of the San Bernardino Police Department.
University police called in San Bernardino officers. When officers approached the suspect, he jumped in a car and fled, Patterson said. The man drove north on Waterman Avenue, then up a dirt fire road into the foothills, he said. When officers tried to stop him, he rammed their vehicles with his car, Patterson said.
“The officers fired their weapons in self-defense, and the suspect was struck and died as a result of his injuries,” Patterson said.
The shooting is under investigation, Patterson said.
The man was in an area that burned during the 2003 Old fire, about 20 miles from the Lake Arrowhead blazes, Patterson said.
“They thought there could be the possibility that he’s an arsonist,” Patterson said. The area “is in the path of the fire.”
LAT article by Tami Abdollah here.
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My thoughts is that it could be some earth first type lunatics, helping mother earth rage against the human destroyers
October 24th, 2007 at 11:28 amHey Bash,
I’m down here sandwiched between the san diego fire and the santiago one. Yes the fires are bad but they aren’t uncommon. This is a 6 to 8 year event. The Santa Ana’s winds always come this time of year. Sometimes things just line up badly and homes burn.
If this was a terrorist event (Jihadists) I would have expected to see thousands of fires starting.. We have no shortage of areas that would burn well.
The only terrorism I see here is the result of the environmentalists that have prevented basic ground cover maintenance and cleanup. I’d bet a buck that the few arsons that started a couple of the blazes are liberals too.
October 24th, 2007 at 11:43 amNotice how, and Rush emphasized on his show today: we don’t want to be clasified as victims, we haven’t begged for FEMA or the National Guard (they should stay on the border or at their day jobs), people at Qualcomm and other evacuation sites are taking care of business…SoCal does have it together when it comes to disaster preparedness. New Orleans, Lousiana: are you taking a lesson? I sort of feel sorry for Pres. Bush because he has been prompted to “react,” due to the Katrina debacle. But, what this demonstrates is that disaster preparedness and relief is a LOCAL issue for the most part. We aren’t going to cry and we aren’t going to whine, regardless if Feinstein or Boxer or the Lt. Gov. want to try to make it political like they did with Katrina, which was screwed up due to LOCAL corruption and ineptitude for the most part.
October 24th, 2007 at 12:29 pmThe FBI eh?
October 24th, 2007 at 1:05 pmHmmm……
Agree with everyone’s points above … Especially at wondering if this was one of those crazed ELF anarchists ..
Oh, yeah, and I’m sure there will be those who not only found the shooting of the bastard unnecessary … but the chasing down of said bastard.
October 24th, 2007 at 1:59 pmAnother crazoid committing “death by cops”. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these fires were started by eco-terrorists to drive out developers. If that’s the case, I hope that the Fed locks the scum underneath the jail.
October 24th, 2007 at 3:05 pmBoth USA Today, using a Phoenix, Arizona Associated Press story, and Wolrd Net Daily, quoting from a National Terror Alert Response Center report from 2003, reported today (10-24-07)that an arrested terror suspect, while in custody, disclosed a al-Qaida plan to set fires in western states to disrupt the economy, tie up assets, and create havoc.
Whether it is terrorism or not, it merits investigation on those terms. And, the FBI investigating a brush fire? Sounds like they may have information they are not releasing to the general public.
Dr. Jerry
October 24th, 2007 at 3:12 pmWouldn’t be surprised to find that the arsonist is a left wing radical.
Kind of interesting how quickly all of the democrats Anti-Bush, Anti-Iraq media soundbites have arisen and sound like they are pre-planned, coordinated responses….
October 24th, 2007 at 8:37 pmThey arrested 5 suspects so far..But I can’t
October 27th, 2007 at 2:32 pmfind a name or nationality.
were all 5 of the same origion????