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LA Arson Spree Continues With 12 More Fires

Matt Cantor — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:26:01 CST

Another dozen fires broke out over two hours early this morning around Los Angeles, some of them apparently simultaneously , as police investigate 55 such incidents since last week . Police have now detained a "person of interest" in the crimes, believed to be the same white male between 20 and 30...

LA Arson Spree Torches Cars

John Johnson — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:34:21 CST

Los Angeles apparently has one or more arsonists running around. Firefighters battled 16 more blazes overnight, on top of 21 the previous night, mostly around Hollywood, reports the Los Angeles Times . It appears the fires were started in parked cars, and several spread to nearby buildings. The most notable example:...

Texas Wildfire Toll: 1,386 Homes, 2 Lives

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:00:36 CDT

Texas’ Bastrop Wildfire has already been named the state’s worst ever , and it continues to rage: Now 1,386 homes have been destroyed, and the fire is just 30% contained. Two people have died, one of them a city of Austin employee found inside his home. The fire has burned...

6 States Ablaze, 1.2M Acres Lost

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 01:36:38 CDT

Six states are ablaze in a searing summer that's breaking records for wildfires. More than 1.2 million acres have already burned and some 10,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as flames devour land in Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Colorado, as well as Georgia and...

Wildfires Blaze Through Arizona

Evann Gastaldo — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 08:51:51 CDT

Firefighters worked through the night to protect several mountain communities from a wildfire that has been blazing uncontrolled since May 29. The 144,000-acre Wallow Fire, near the New Mexico-Arizona state line, has burned through 225 square miles of forest and brush and is the third largest fire in state...

Wildfires Blaze Across Texas

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:52:20 CDT

Wildfires roared through Texas yesterday, burning more than 230,000 acres and destroying about 80 homes. One West Texas blaze covered 20 miles in 90 minutes, crossing railroad tracks and state highways as it burned more than 60,000 acres and destroyed 40 homes. "Frankly, it moved almost as quick...

Fight Fire With ... Electric Wands?

Matt Cantor — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:09:05 CDT

A little piece of Hogwarts may someday be reality: firefighters could eventually replace their hoses with flame-snuffing wands, the Daily Mail reports. Scientists attached a 600-watt electrical amplifier to a wand that blasted a foot-high fire with electricity, and the flames were extinguished almost immediately, they announced at a conference...

1 Dead, 100 Homeless in Brooklyn Blaze

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 08:16:02 CST

A five-alarm fire ripped through a Brooklyn apartment building last night, leaving one resident dead, 100 homeless, and injuring more than 20 firefighters as some 200 of them battled the blaze in high winds, reports the New York Post. The fire broke out just before 7pm, but wasn't brought under...

SC Man: Don't Blame Me, Blame Fire Dept.

Evann Gastaldo — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:29:53 CDT

A South Carolina man accused of setting off the state's still-burning wildfires says the fire department should be taking the blame, not him. Marc Torchi says he's gotten death threats since fire officials named him, alleging that Torchi's backyard fire to burn debris started the larger blaze. Torchi said they...