Old Fire Suspect Accused of Serious Crime in Jail

Suspected arsonist Rickie Lee Fowler charged with jailhouse sodomy
From Los Angeles Daily News
Updated: 09/10/2010 01:05:32 PM PDT

RANCHO CUCAMONGA — Jailhouse sodomy charges have been filed against a suspected arsonist facing trial for a 2003 Southern California wildfire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes and led to five deaths.

San Bernardino County prosecutors say 29-year-old Rickie Lee Fowler is charged with three felony counts of sodomy by force and one felony count of sodomy in a correctional facility. A Tuesday preliminary hearing is scheduled on the latest charges.

Prosecutor Vic Stull told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin that Fowler forced himself on another inmate for sex on Aug. 21 at the county's Rancho Cucamonga jail.

Prosecutors claim Fowler set the 91,281-acre Old Fire that caused five deadly heart attacks. has pleaded not guilty to five counts of murder and two arson counts.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/wildfires/ci_16042025

Fire Season Closes in Santa Barbara County

Officials Announce A Change In Fire Season
Jim Bunner
KEYT-TV Santa Barbara

Story Created: Nov 28, 2010 at 6:37 PM PST

Santa Barbara - As fall turns to winter, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department will begin the transition Monday of lowering the fire danger risk and fewer burning restrictions.

Beginning at 8 a.m., the County Fire Department will follow other local agencies by stepping down from a high-fire-season preparedness level to a lower one.

The U.S. Forest Service also reduced fire restrictions in the Los Padres National Forest. Campfires and charcoal barbecues are once again allowed in all areas of the forest, and prohibitions on smoking and target shooting were also lifted. Cal Fire, the fire agency for San Luis Obispo County, transitioned to low fire season back on November 8th.

Structure Fire LACOFD 37's P-8 and 10th Street East

Los Angeles County Firefighters responded to a reported commercial structure fire at P-8 and 10th Street East Saturday evening at approximately 11:15 PM in the City of Palmdale. Upon arrival Engine Companies 37 and 24 found a large commercial building well involved with fire and with flames shooting 50 feet into the air. The building appears to be a former storage facility and does not appear to be occupied at the time of the fire. Firefighting units took approximately 1 hour to extinguish the fire. The fire is under investigation, there are no reported injuries or damage to exposures.

Vehicle Fire LACOFD 80

Los Angeles County Firefighters responded to a vehicle fire on the North Bound 14 Freeway just north of Pear Blossom Highway today at approximately 3:00 pm today. Upon arrival firefighters found a vehicle well involved with fire on the right shoulder of the freeway. All occupants escaped injury. It took County Firefighters about 10 minutes to get the fire under control. Traffic was slowed for about 30 minutes until the vehicle could be removed from the freeway.

Photos Jeff Zimmerman

Family Rescued from Early Morning House Fire, Palmdale CA

Los Angeles County Firefighters were summoned to an early morning house fire at 37807Rose Marie in the City of Palmdale, November 23, 2010. Upon arrival firefighter paramedics from rescue squad 37 found six people still inside the burning single family dwelling. Firefighters rescued four children and two adults from the burning home while neighbors watched anxiously. Firefighters also rescued a small puppy that could not escape the flames. Firefighters aggressively attacked the fire simultaneously while squad 37 personnel were performing search and rescue functions. The home sustained serious smoke damage, fire damage appeared to be confined to the garage. All occupants appear to be uninjured thanks to the aggressive rescue efforts of Los Angeles County Firefighters.

Photos Copyright Jeff Zimmerman, Zimmerman Media LLC

Winter Style Storm In Southern California

SHOWERS AND GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY AS ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM PASSES THROUGH THE AREA OVERNIGHT. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL THROUGH THE NIGHT AS WELL...BRINGING EARLY SEASON SNOW TO LOWER MOUNTAIN ELEVATIONS. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY AND TUESDAY...THEN SKIES WILL BEGIN TO CLEAR BY WEDNESDAY WITH HIGH PRESSURE BRINGING MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND WARMER TEMPERATURES TO THE AREA THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.

By Wednesday the offshore winds will return to So Cal with near advisory levels through Friday as high pressure builds over the Great Basin.

Physical Rescue Assignment South Los Angeles

Physical rescue assignment for Task Force 10, North Bound 110 Freeway Offramp near 8th Street, Task Force 10 members extricate a male patient from wreckage 03:27 am Saturday Nov 20, 2010.

Photos Jeff Zimmerman

LACOFD Station 80 Vehicle Roll Over

Los Angeles County Firefighters responded to a report of an over turned pick up truck with entrapment on the South Bound 14 Freeway at Pear Blossom Hwy on ramp just before 2 pm today. Upon arrival both occupants of the pick up truck had self extricated and were found to have only minor injuries. The accident is under investigation by the CHP. Rain slickened roads probably contributed to the accident.
Photo Jeff Zimmerman

Winter Storm Warnings for Southland

FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE BURN AREAS OF LAX COUNTY. SNOW LEVELS WILL START OUT AROUND 7000 FEET LATE THIS EVENING...BUT ARE ANTICIPATED TO DROP TO 4500-5000 FEET BY SATURDAY EVENING. GIVEN THE SNOW LEVELS AND ANTICIPATED PRECIP AND WIND...WINTER STORM CONDITIONS WILL BE LIKELY AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. SO...WILL UPGRADE THE WINTER STORM WATCH TO A WARNING FOR LAX/VTU COUNTY MOUNTAINS. ALSO...AS THE EVENT UNFOLDS AND SNOW LEVELS DROP... WILL HAVE TO MONITOR THE SBA COUNTY MOUNTAINS FOR ANY SNOW ISSUES. FINALLY...AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH...THERE WILL BE SOME VERY GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS ON SATURDAY. AT THIS TIME...THERE WILL LIKELY BE ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS ACROSS MOST COASTAL/VALLEY AREAS...WITH WARNING LEVEL GUSTS POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS. THE POTENTIAL HIGH WINDS FOR VTU/LAX MOUNTAINS IS COVERED BY WINTER STORM WARNING. HOWEVER...THERE COULD POSSIBLY BE SOME VERY STRONG WINDS ACROSS THE ANTELOPE VALLEY ON SATURDAY. SO...WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND WATCH AND SEE HOW THINGS DEVELOP.

2008 Fire Storms Freeway Complex

2008: Santa Ana winds blew from 11.15 to 11.19.
Winds gusted over 70 mph in the Santa Ana Mountains and over 60 mph in the northern Inland Empire.

The Freeway Complex Fire burned from Corona through Chino Hills and Yorba Linda.
This fire destroyed or damaged over 300 homes and four businesses.
More than 30,000 acres burned and more than 40,000 evacuated.

Sayre Wildfire Anniversary

Title: 2008 Sayre Fire

Location: Los Angeles County
Notes: At about this time in 2008 a fire started in the hills on the northern margin of Sylmar in the Northern San Fernando Valley.

Santa Ana Winds with gusts of up to hurricane intensity fanned the fire into adjacent neighborhoods where it consumed 480 of the 600 mobile homes in the nearby Oakridge Mobile Home Park.

It also consumed nine single-family homes, ten commercial structures and 104 outbuildings. Over the next 24 hours it covered 11,262 acres.

This fire holds the distinction of burning the most homes in Los Angeles City history beating out the old record of 484 homes previously held by the Bel Aire Fir of 1961.

Tea Wildfire Anniversary, Nov 13, 2008

Location: Santa Barbara County - City of Montecito
Notes: Tonight in 2008 a brush fire began from a seemingly-extinguished campfire in the hills above Montecito during a Sundowner Wind event. The fire raged throughout the evening consuming 210 homes and charring 1,940 acres. Two people were critically-burned and Westmont College sustained heavy damaged with the destruction of multiple structures on the campus. Actor Christopher Lloyd lost his home in the fire.

East Bay Hills, Fire Weather Watch

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH AND EAST BAY HILLSTHROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 1000 FEET...CAZ507-150500-/O.CON.KMTR.WI.Y.0010.000000T0000Z-101115T1800Z/NORTH BAY MOUNTAINS-

1033 AM PST SUN NOV 14 2010...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST MONDAY...A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST MONDAY.* TIMING: GUSTY NORTHERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY MORNING.

THE PERIOD OF STRONGEST WINDS IS EXPECTED TONIGHT.* WINDS: SUSTAINED NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS FROM 20 TO 35 MPH IN THE HILLS ABOVE 1000 FEET. LOCAL GUSTS FROM 50 TO 60 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE ABOVE 2000 FEET. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED OVER
NAPA COUNTY AND MOUNT TAMALPAIS IN MARIN COUNTY.* IMPACTS: A PROLONGED WIND EVENT IS FORECAST FOR THE HILLS. POWER OUTAGES WITH DOWNED TREES WILL BE POSSIBLE. BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL WITH BARBECUES AND OTHER OUTDOOR IGNITION SOURCES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDSTHIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGHPROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

Wildfire Riverside County Jurupa amd Sierra

EPN Alert, Wildfire Jurupa and Sierra, Riverside Fontana Area, EPN Channel 5

Bel Air / Brentwood Wildfire of 1961

1961 Bel Air Fire

Location: Bel Air-Brentwood/Santa Monica Mountains/Los Angeles County
Notes: On this morning in 1961 Santa Ana Winds blew embers out of a rubbish pile in Sherman Oaks and into brush where they became an inferno that was then pushed all the way over the Santa Monica Mountain and into Bel Air and Brentwood where it consumed 484 homes, including those of many famous Hollywood actors and actress.

Burt Lancaster and Zsa Zsa Gabor lost their homes to the fire while Fred MacMurray fought flames at his house and saved it although it was damaged and Maureen O'Hara fought the flames at her house and saved it from any damage as did Richard Nixon at a house he was renting at the time on North Bundy Drive (yes, the Bundy Drive of O.J. infamy).

190 other structures were destroyed and 6,090 acres were charred. There were no deaths or major injuries associated with this fire. At least 200 firefighters were injured, many by the tar from the roofs of the homes, but no one was killed and 78% of the homes were saved. Still, the fires were the fifth worst conflagration in the nation's history at the time, burning 16,090 acres (65.1 km2), destroying more than 484 homes and 190 other structures and causing an estimated $30 million in damage.

Bel Air is an affluent residential community in the hills of the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California.[1] Together with Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills it forms the Platinum Triangle of Los Angeles neighborhoods.[2]

Bel Air is situated about 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Los Angeles[3] and includes some of the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. It borders the north side of UCLA along Sunset Boulevard. At the heart of the community sits the Bel Air Country Club and the Hotel Bel-Air. The community was founded in 1923 by Alphonzo E. Bell, Sr.[4]

It is bordered by Brentwood on the west and southwest, Westwood on the south, Beverly Hills Post Office on the east, and Sherman Oaks on the north. Bel Air is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities and corporate executives.[citation needed]

Reche Canyon Wildfire

Riverside County: Firefighters near Colton Ca are working a vegetation fire with structural threat in Reche Canyon. Strong winds are hampering fire attack, initial reports are 10 acres near structures. 2 pm Saturday November 6, 2010

Update: As of 3:21 PM wildfire continues to grow hampered by strong winds nearing 40 acres with continued structural threat.

Update 4:57 PM Vegetation Fire: Reche Canyon @ Crystal Ridge area, Reche Cyn (Border of San Bernardino County and Riverside County - Colton area)
Currently at 60 acres with units making good progress towards suppressing the fire.

Riverside County Fire Department is in Unified Command with Colton Fire Department and Loma Linda Fire Department. Aircraft and hand crews are also on scene. San Bernardino County Fire Department is assisting operations with equipment and personnel.

Structures are threatened in the City of Colton at the Prado St and Michelle Rd areas. Structure protection is in place. No evacuations have been reqested.

As of 0031 hours the fire is reportedly contained at approximately 125 acres with extensive mop up.

Melee at Hollywood and Vine, LAFD asks for LAPD Assistance

LAFD Battalion 5 asked for Task Force 27 in Hollywood to respond to an over crowded condition at the Avalon Club at Hollywood and Vine just before midnight on Friday November 5, 2010. As attendees were asked to leave a few became violent throwing bottles and debris at police officers. LAPD quickly went into a tactical alert in the Hollywood Division and formed skirmish lines to move approximately 1,000 patrons out of the area. An assault requiring EMS occured on Cahuenga and a few arrests were made by LAPD officers. LAFD established a command post at Hollywood and Vine. LAPD provided security to firefighting resources. The incident concluded in about an hour.

Photos

Copyright Jeff Zimmerman

Old Topanga Cyn Wildfire of 1993

Title: 1993 Old Topanga (Malibu) Fire

Location: Los Angeles County
Notes: On this morning in 1993 the arson-caused Old Topanga Fire began on the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles County and driven by strong Santa Ana Winds with gusts up to 70 miles per hour ran up and over the mountain range and down to the sea at Pacific Coast Highway.

Three people were killed and 369 homes were destroyed and at least 18,000 acres were scorched. One of the fatalities in this fire was Hollywood writer/director Duncan Gibbons (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0316496/) who was fatally burned when he went back to his house to rescue his cat, which ironically survived the fire despite being injured. Another irony is that Gibbons wrote the screenplay for a made-for-TV movie entitled "Third Degree Burn" which aired in 1989.

KTLA-TV's Jennifer York won an Emmy Award for her work reporting on this fire from KTLA's primary news helicopter.

A few years after this fire a couple of firefighters were falsely accused of starting this blaze while off-duty but were later cleared when their seemingly unlikely story was corroborated.

Here are some great links about this disaster:

http://www.malibucomplete.com/mc_history_malibucity_1993fire.php

http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/931102_OldTopangaFire/110293_official_report_old_topanga_inci.htm

http://www.dasfilmfest.com/?id=94

Fire Weather

Record and near-record high temperatures are expected today around Southern California, with predictions of triple-digit heat in parts of the San Fernando Valley.

High pressure and winds out of the northeast will bring nearly cloudless skies, sunshine and breezy conditions.

With the high temperatures and dry conditions come the increased danger of a wildfire, despite the region getting three soaking rains in October.

Temperatures along the coast are forecast to be in the mid- and upper 80s.

The Valley is expected to see temperatures in the 90s on Thursday, with cooler weather forecast for the rest of the region.

Mild Santa Anas, Warming Trend to 90 Degrees in Valleys

CALIFORNIA THROUGH AT LEAST THURSDAY...UNSEASONABLY WARM TEMPERATURES WILL PERSIST ACROSS MUCH OF THEFORECAST AREA THROUGH AT LEAST THURSDAY...AS A STRONG UPPER LEVELHIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COMBINED WITH OFFSHORE FLOW WILL BRING AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF HEAT TO THE REGION. GUSTYNORTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING WITH LOCALGUSTS 30 TO 45 MPH EXPECTED ACROSS THE WIND PRONE PASSES AND CANYONSOF LOS ANGELES AND VENTURA COUNTIES.

THE WEAK TO MODERATE SANTA ANA EVENT WILL INITIALLY BE STRONG ENOUGHTO CAUSE A WIDESPREAD WARM UP TO THE COASTAL AREAS TOMORROWAFTERNOON. THE WARMEST TEMPERATURES LIKELY REACHING THE LOWER 90SACROSS THE COASTAL AREAS OF VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES...WHILE THE VALLEYS WARM UP TO AROUND 90...WITH A FEW SITES POSSIBLYREACHING THE LOWER 90S. THE CENTRAL COAST WILL ALSO FEEL THE AFFECTSOF THE OFFSHORE FLOW...WARMING TEMPERATURES INTO THE UPPER 80S TOAROUND 90 DEGREES ON TUESDAY.

THE OFFSHORE FLOW WILL LIKELY WEAKEN A TAD ON WEDNESDAY...WHICH WILLALLOW THE LOS ANGELES AND VENTURA COUNTY VALLEYS TO WARM UP TO THEMID TO UPPER 90S...WHILE THE COAST CONTINUES TO STAY IN THE LOWER TOMID 90S. EXPECT SOME HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS TO BE BROKEN OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...ESPECIALLY ON WEDNESDAY. BY THURSDAY...TEMPERATURES SHOULD GRADUALLY BEGIN TO COOL AS ARETURN OF THE SEABREEZE IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE COASTAL AREAS BY THEAFTERNOON. VALLEY TEMPERATURES SHOULD REMAIN IN THE LOWER 90S...WITH COASTAL AREAS EXPERIENCING THE BEST COOLING WITH TEMPS RANGING FROMTHE MID 70S TO MID 80S.A MORE EXTENSIVE COOLING WILL LIKELY ARRIVE THIS WEEKEND AS ANAPPROACHING TROUGH WILL REPLACE THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BRINGING
TEMPERATURES DOWN TO MORE NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.

ALTHOUGH IT IS THE BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER...WITH TEMPERATURESEXPECTED TO REACH THE UPPER 90S...REMEMBER TO STAY HYDRATED BYDRINKING PLENTY OF FLUIDS...AND NEVER LEAVE CHILDREN...THE ELDERLY AND PETS IN ENCLOSED AUTOMOBILES...EVEN FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. EVEN IF THE WINDOWS ARE PARTIALLY OPEN...TEMPERATURES CAN QUICKLY RISE TO LIFE THREATENING LEVELS.

Wildfire Halted, Twelve Acres Burn in Agua Dulce CA

Los Angeles County Firefighters responded to a reported brush fire at approximately 5:45 pm on November 1, 2010 along the 14 Freeway just north of Soledad Canyon in Agua Dulce. Multiple alarms were sounded by the County Fire Department and United States Forest Service in order to catch three separate wildfires burning along the north bound 14 Freeway. Gusty winds of 15-20 MPH spread the fire in a southerly direction. Air resources including two fixed wing water dropping CL 415 tankers from Quebec Canada and four helicopters made quick work of the fire which was contained in approximately 1 hour. Photos Jeff Zimmerman, Copyright Zimmerman Media LLC

Off Duty Firefighter Shot and Killed

Riverside Firefighter Shot During Confrontation

Riverside, CA -- On Sunday, October 31, 2010, at approximately 0332 hours the Riverside Police Department Communications Center received numerous calls of shots fired in the 5900 block of Windemere Way.

Officers responded to the location and found Nick Barrios, a forty one year old off duty City of Riverside Firefighter, in the street suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Mr. Barrios was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.

The officers also located an additional adult male inside a residence with what appeared to be a self inflicted gunshot wound. Rene Trejo, 36 years old from Moreno Valley, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives from the Robbery/Homicide Unit responded to the scene and were assisted in their investigation by personnel from the Forensic Evidence Unit.

Preliminary investigation indicates that Trejo ambushed Mr. Barrios in the street in front of the residence, and shot him multiple times. Trejo then entered the residence, where he shot himself.

At this point in the investigation the police department is not looking for any additional suspects.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Rick Wheeler at (951) 353-7134 or Detective Greg Rowe at (951) 353-7136.