California wildfire destroys 10 homes, threatens 500 others
California wildfire destroys 10 homes, threatens 500 others
BEAUMONT, Calif. — A rapidly spreading wildfire chewed through a rugged Southern California mountain range on Thursday, destroying at least 10 homes, threatening more than 500 other residences and forcing some 1,500 people to flee.
Five people were injured, while more than 1,000 firefighters, 13 helicopters and six air tankers battled the flames as they pushed eastward along the San Jacinto Mountains, a desert range 90 miles east of Los Angeles, Cal Fire Riverside Chief John R. Hawkins said.
A man near the origin of the fire suffered serious burns, Hawkins said. Four firefighters were also injured, including two who suffered heat exhaustion. Officials did not have details to release on the other two.
At least 10 homes have been destroyed and Hawkins said that number would likely triple as authorities make their way into the charred areas to assess the damage.
Hawkins said the wind-fed fire that sparked at 2:05 p.m. Wednesday is one of the “most rapidly spreading, dangerous fires that I’ve seen” in his 50 years as a firefighter.
Judge resumes
Fort Hood trial
FORT HOOD, Texas — The soldier on trial for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood was allowed to continue representing himself on Thursday after the judge ordered his standby attorneys to stay on as advisers, despite their claims that the Army psychiatrist was trying to secure his own death sentence.
The military lawyers ordered to help Maj. Nidal Hasan had asked the judge to either scale back their advisory duties or allow them to take over his defense. They believe Hasan is trying to convince jurors to convict him and sentence him to death for the attack that killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others at the Texas military base.
The judge, Col. Tara Osborn, denied that request Thursday in a heated exchange with the lead standby attorney, saying it was clear that the lawyers simply disagreed with Hasan’s defense strategy. Hasan has been largely silent during the trial, and he objected only once Thursday as more than a dozen witnesses testified.
But the attorneys were adamant and said they would appeal Osborn’s ruling to a higher court.
“We believe your order is causing us to violate our rules of professional conduct,” said Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, who has said Hasan was trying to fulfill a death wish.
Search expands for suspect, missing Calif. teen; authorities also find signs of homemade explosives
LAKESIDE, Calif. — A man suspected of abducting a 16-year-old girl after setting his house ablaze with the girl’s mother and possibly her younger brother inside may have booby-trapped his car with homemade explosives, police said Thursday as a search expanded to four states, Mexico and Canada.
Meanwhile, police said an “unusual infatuation” with the teenager might have driven suspect James Lee DiMaggio, 40, to flee with her from his burned home on the California-Mexico border.
“That is kind of a working theory, that it may be something of a motivator,” San Diego County Sheriff’s Capt. Duncan Fraser said. “It’s definitely something that we’re looking at.”
Evidence found in the rubble of the home suggested that DiMaggio may have fled with explosives, Fraser said, declining to elaborate on what was discovered. Investigators worried that DiMaggio might abandon his blue Nissan Versa after rigging it to explode.
“In the event that someone comes across the car, they need to use caution,” Fraser said.
By wire sources