Firefighters make gains against blaze as winds ease

By David Kelly and Steve Hymon

Oct. 29, 2006 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writers

Firefighters battling the deadly Esperanza fire took advantage of a break in the ferocious winds Saturday to contain more than 60% of the blaze, but left open the possibility of more evacuations if gusts returned.

“Today is a turning point,” said Rick Vogt, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry. “One way or the other, it will determine how this fire will go. It all depends on the wind.”

Winds on Saturday were much lighter than the 50- to 60-mph gusts that fanned flames Thursday, when four firefighters were killed and a fifth was critically injured. The blaze on the scrubby, rock-strewn western slope of the San Jacinto Mountains has burned 27 structures, mostly homes, and has charred more than 40,000 acres. Investigators said they believed the fire, which began near Esperanza Avenue in Cabazon, was deliberately set.

Today, winds are expected to ease further and lower temperatures are expected, according to the National Weather Service.

Police allowed about 500 residents who had evacuated Twin Pines and Poppet Flats earlier this week to return for a few hours Saturday afternoon to check on their homes.

Some found everything as they left it; others found destruction and painful cruelties.

Dawn and David Adkins discovered their Twin Pines trailer home badly damaged, but found far worse nearby. Their Doberman pinscher lay dead in its scorched pen. Three cats and five kittens also died. The couple had been off the mountain, celebrating their anniversary when the fire broke out, and they were unable to reach the animals to evacuate them.

From a drainage pipe, they heard a faint mewing. Dawn Adkins raced to the hole and saw a white cat huddled in the dark -- their lone remaining pet.

“C’mon Baby, c’mon,” she cooed through tears.

As the cat edged nearer, her eyes widened. “Oh God! No! He’s burned up!” she shouted before turning away.

The cat stumbled out, badly scorched and unable to see. A 1-year-old named Baby, it wandered blindly around the dirt, shaking and purring.

“Who could do something like this?” Adkins cried.

The cat wouldn’t drink water. The couple gently bundled the cat in a towel and took it to a veterinarian in Banning.

Both of the Adkinses were in tears. The destruction of their home, the deaths of their animals and the mutilation of a beloved pet was too much.

“I feel so stupid crying like this, crying so hard over this when four people died,” she said flailing her arms. “I can’t even imagine what they are going through, those who lost their loved ones.”

In a dramatic appearance Saturday, the mother of one of the dead firefighters urged whoever set the blaze to surrender to authorities.

“I firmly believe you didn’t believe things were going to turn out the way they did, but they did,” said Bonnie McKay, the mother of Jason McKay, at a news conference at a fire station in Apple Valley. “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,” she said.

A $500,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest.

The fifth firefighter, Pablo Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley remained in critical condition Saturday at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where dressings were being applied to help heal his wounds, said hospital spokesman Jorge Valencia. On Friday, surgeons removed the 70% of his skin that was dead or damaged.

More than 200 calls had been made to a hotline set up by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to gather information about suspects in the fire.,

“We’re following each of them up, no matter how small it is,” Deputy Javier Rodriguez said. “We have 40 sheriff’s investigators on the investigation and their main job right now is to follow up on all these leads.”

Also working on the investigation are the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the California Department of Forestry. The tip line is (951) 922-7116.

In Cabazon on Saturday, investigators could be seen scouring the site near where the fire was believed to have been ignited.

Dead animals lay everywhere along a road in Twin Pines. A deer had been shot after it was seen running through the street on fire. Charred rabbits sat frozen, as if ready to leap.

Yet this fire that killed so mercilessly was also strangely merciful to some.

Claudia Keeling, 65, had feared that her Twin Pines home would be destroyed. Instead, she found it intact.

“The fire was like multiple arms that weaved its way through the valley,” she said. “I have seven hummingbird feeders that are still there and the birds were waiting for me. I think this was a blessing.”

Police allowed families to return for only a few hours, and everyone had to be out by 3 p.m. in case there was a flare-up or the wind shifted. Most of the Twin Pines area remained without power.

Firefighters are using a box-in strategy to isolate and put down the wind-fed blaze.

“Our strategy is to keep the fire south of the I-10 freeway, east of Highway 79, north of Soboba and west of the San Jacinto Wilderness Area,” said California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Janet Upton. “We are making a box.” As of late Saturday, it appeared to be working.

A DC-10 jet that can hold 50 tons of fire retardant made drops over the fire Saturday. There were 2,078 firefighters taking part, along with 274 engines, 20 bulldozers, 15 helicopters and 15 fixed-wing aircraft.

The deaths of the firefighters made this incident especially sobering for those charged with putting it out.

“We are always aware of the danger, but this really brought it home,” said Ezra Colman, 34, a firefighter from Larkspur in Marin County.

An assistance fund was begun by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for the families of the four firefighters who were killed: Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto; Mark Loutzenhiser, 44, of Idyllwild; Jason McKay, 27, of Phelan; and Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont.

Donations can be sent to: Esperanza Firefighters Assistance Fund, P.O. Box 1645, Riverside, CA 92502-1645.

david.kelly@latimes.com

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Fatal blazes

State’s five deadliest wildfires for emergency crews:

* Griffith Park (1933), 29 dead

The fire burned light chaparral in Griffith Park. The wind shifted and firefighters tried to run to safety.

* Mendocino National Forest (1953), 15 dead

There was an unanticipated evening downslope wind. The crew tried to outrun the fire.

* Angeles National Forest (1966), 14 dead

There was an unanticipated afternoon upslope wind when the Santa Anas stopped. The crew was trapped while cutting brush.