Reuters AlertNet Lite - Thousands join memorial for Calif. firefighters

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Thousands join memorial for Calif. firefighters

05 Nov 2006 23:59:57 GMT
Source: Reuters

LOS ANGELES, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Thousands of uniformed firefighters lined the roads, bagpipes played and the final alarm bell was struck on Sunday at a memorial for five southern California firefighters killed in an arson blaze last month.

Some 10,000 people flocked to an open air theater with a majestic mountain backdrop for the emotional farewell to the men who were overrun by wind-whipped flames while trying to save an isolated home in rugged terrain near Palm Springs on Oct. 26.

Three of the five, all of whom worked in the community for the U.S. Forest Service, died instantly and the others died later of massive burns received on the first day of a five-day blaze that destroyed 34 homes and charred an area nearly three times the size of Manhattan.

Authorities offered a $500,000 reward for information about the fire and on Thursday charged a local man with arson and five counts of murder. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Dozens of red and green fire trucks from fire departments throughout California and beyond circled the amphitheater in the high desert town of Devore, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles, for Sunday's memorial.

The families of the men were each presented with a yellow fire helmet bearing the E57 letters of their engine company in the San Jacinto mountains.

"We are all going to have to work a little harder and do a little bit better because engine company has raised the bar forever," Norm Walker, division chief of the San Jacinto Ranger District, told the silent gathering.

The October fire was fueled by hot Santa Ana winds that made it difficult to control. On Sunday, authorities issued a red flag, or high fire danger, warning as dry, warm Santa Ana gusts moved in again to southern California.

Funerals have already taken place for some of the firefighters and have also drawn large crowds of mourners. The fire forced more than 700 people to evacuate homes and the deaths were the worst tragedy to befall the Forest Service in a single wildfire since 1994, when 14 firefighters were killed in Colorado.

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Last updated:Mon Nov 6 00:01:18 2006