Officials probing arson wildfire are mum on arrest, still fielding tips

Authorities investigating a wildfire that killed five U.S. Forest Service firefighters continued to focus on Raymond Lee Oyler on Wednesday as a “person of interest” in the arson but released little information on what evidence they had gathered in the case.

Oyler, 37, of Beaumont, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of being involved in two earlier fires in the Banning area, not far from Cabazon, where the Esperanza fire was set Oct. 26.

The wind-driven Esperanza fire charred 40,000 acres and killed four Idyllwild-based fighters trying to save a remote canyon home. A fifth crew member, Pablo Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley, died Tuesday of burns that covered 90% of his body.

Officials with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department stressed that Oyler was not a suspect in the Esperanza fire. They did not disclose why Oyler was a “person of interest,” however, or why investigators think he may have set the two small fires in June.

Cheri Patterson, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Riverside County operations, added that providing such information could impede the investigation.

“We want to make sure the public knows that even though there was an arrest, we still want those tips coming in,” said Cpl. Dennis Gutierrez, a sheriff’s spokesman. “We want to help these firefighters’ families to have at least a little closure, and that starts with a suspect.”

Oyler, jailed in Riverside in lieu of $25,000 bail, is scheduled to be arraigned today.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties were hit with a rash of more than 40 small, suspicious fires in May and the first half of June. One such fire, in mid-June, broke out in Cabazon and burned 10 acres near the intersection of Esperanza Avenue and Broadway, not far from the origin of the Esperanza blaze.

More than 50 investigators from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are following up on more than 300 tips called into the arson hotline. Among the investigators are two profilers from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and a polygraph examiner. A $550,000 reward has been offered for information leading to a conviction.

At a community forum Wednesday, state and county officials assured residents that they were aggressively pursuing leads. The meeting was held near an RV park where some people were trapped by the blaze for hours.

“This community is made up of a lot of strong people,” said Charles Duggan, 46, of Twin Pines, one of about 200 residents at the two-hour session. “I have no doubt that it can bounce back.”

Oyler has a history of run-ins with the law. In 2001, he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in San Bernardino County and served nine days in jail. Six years earlier, he was convicted in San Bernardino County of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Residents of Noble Creek Apartments in Beaumont, where Oyler most recently lived, said officials had staked out the complex over the weekend and questioned them about Oyler.

Deputies also searched the home of Oyler’s relatives in Banning, nearby residents said. A woman identified by neighbors as Oyler’s sister shouted profanities at reporters and said the family had no comment.

The Esperanza fire erupted before dawn at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains. Santa Ana winds quickly drove it uphill, where it destroyed 34 homes and led to the evacuations of Twin Pines and Poppet Flats.

The five firefighters were burned when a wall of flames roared over them as they worked on Gorgonio View Road.

Along with Pablo Cerda, firefighters killed were Mark Loutzenhiser, 43, the team’s captain, of Idyllwild; Jason McKay, 27, of Phelan; Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; and Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto.

maeve.reston@latimes.com

david.kelly@latimes.com

Times staff writers Jonathan Abrams, Sara Lin and Kelly-Ann Suarez contributed to this report.

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What is a “person of interest”?

Authorities generally use the term “person of interest” to indicate that they do not have enough evidence to warrant an arrest and merely seek to speak with the individual in question, law enforcement officials say.

The term “suspect,” by contrast, usually signals that an arrest or warrant may be imminent.

“Suspect” refers to “someone who we consider to be responsible for a particular crime,” said Susan Raichel, spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Though the terms have been controversial -- a man called a “person of interest” in the anthrax letters case of 2001 recently sued federal agencies for allegedly smearing his reputation -- several law enforcement agencies say their use of the term is rooted in a long tradition that seeks to distinguish those who police believe committed crimes from those whom “we’d just like to talk to,” said Deputy Luis Castro, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“Person of interest” may even refer to victims or witnesses of crimes, authorities say.

The designation “person of interest” does not preclude an eventual arrest, but in the case of the Esperanza fire arson, the man arrested has so far been charged only in connection with unrelated crimes, Raichel said.

Reporting by Times staff writer Jill Leovy