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October 26, 2006
Three firefighters killed in wind-driven Esperanza blaze
The fast-moving Esperanza Fire killed three firefighters and critically injured two others about 8 a.m. today while they were trying to protect a home near the remote mountain community of Twin Pines in the San Jacinto Mountains, a U.S. Forest Service official said.
"I don't know the particulars. It was a complete burn-over. They were engulfed in fire in a matter of minutes," said Pat Boss, a Forest Service spokesman. "There were other engines in the area, but they were far enough away that they didn't get involved in the burn-over."
The two injured firefighters were taken to the burn unit at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. Further information about their conditions was not immediately available.
The damaged fire truck was parked straddling the driveway of a home on Gorgonio View, a dirt road in the Twin Pines community. The house and a structure next to it were destroyed in the blaze. A blue and white mobile home a short distance down the road was not damaged.
The firefighters were assigned to the Alandale Ranger Station in Idyllwild, Boss said.
Late this morning, red tape surrounded a collection of debris on the ground, including fire gear, clothing and an oxygen tank, halfway up the burned home's driveway. About 100 feet away, on a charred hillside near the street, a red tarp lay on the ground. Investigators from the U.S. Forest Service, Riverside County Sheriff's Department and California Department of Forestry and Fire surveyed the area.
Wind continued to gust over the blackened hillside during the afternoon, while eight horses and several dogs milled around the fenced-in yard at the mobile home. National Weather Service forecasters called for the winds to continue, with a wind advisory until 6 p.m. Friday.
--Richard Brooks
and Paul DeCarlo
rbrooks@PE.com
Posted by PE.com at October 26, 2006 01:23 PM