As firefighters took on the still-flaring eastern flank of a giant, arson-sparked wildfire north of Los Angeles, those examining the damage in calmer areas discovered two more destroyed homes, a US Forest Service spokesman said.
The fire, which started on Aug. 26, has killed two firefighters, blackened nearly 637km² of the Angeles National Forest and destroyed at least 78 homes and a pair of commercial buildings, fire spokesman Ian MacDonald said on Sunday. Details were not immediately available on the newly discovered damage.
Fire agencies so far have spent nearly US$50 million fighting the blaze, which was 51 percent contained. Authorities on Sunday were trying to determine who set the deadly fire.
At least a dozen investigators were working to analyze clues found at a burnt hillside near Angeles Crest Highway where the fire started. But officials, who say the cause of the fire was arson, were hesitant to release any of their findings to the media.
Crews built new protective lines near Highway 39 in the San Gabriel Wilderness, the Forest Service said in a news release.
Fire crews planned to light backfires in the area on Sunday night and yesterday morning to help destroy fuels if the weather is not too hot and dry, and officials told residents not to be alarmed if they see fresh plumes of smoke.
The fire was a potential threat to some 5,000 homes and commercial buildings in Monrovia and other foothill communities, but none were in immediate danger.
The weekend weather forecast called for cooler temperatures and slightly higher humidity that could help firefighters further surround the blaze. Because of the reduced heat, hundreds of firefighters assigned to protect structures were dismissed. About 4,600 remained.
Los Angeles County firefighters Tedmund Hall and Arnaldo Quinones were killed on Aug. 30 while seeking an escape route for their inmate fire crew after flames overran their camp on Mount Gleason. The two died when their truck plunged 245m off a steep mountain road.
Sheriff’s detectives opened a homicide investigation after the fire was ruled arson earlier this week, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has offered US$100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprit.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in