Sheriff's office 'taking lots of calls' with arson tips (Reward now at $400,000)

[Sequoia]

More than 100 tips have been received by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department as the intense hunt for the person or group that started the fatal Esperanza fire near Cabazon continued today.

The pool of reward money also grew from $100,000 to $400,000 when the state added $100,000, as did San Bernardino County and the Morongo band of Mission Indians.

We're taking lots of calls," sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Earl Quinata said this morning. "Our investigators are looking at all the information and following up when necessary."

Quinata said there are no suspects in custody, but an arson-homicide investigation "to find the culprits" is urgently working to "resolve this and assist our firefighters and their families" after the blaze claimed the lives of four U.S. Forest Service crew members Thursday.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-102706arson,0,6354462.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[JuniperLea]

1. That's a very depressed area

I sold some property out there about three years ago... for a song...

If you drive along Esparanza Road, you can see literal tar-paper shanties. Most of the properties have old, faded mobile homes on them along with non-operative vehicles and other assorted debris. Very sad area. I used to have family out there in the 80's. It's gone downhill fast since then. We used to refer to it as The CabaZone... assorted desert rats and crack heads... so very sad. I bet not many of them had insurance.

[kurth]

2. Yep, been there

Just a place to fly over or drive through. Nothing to see - well, maybe those gorgeous mountains in wintertime, and that outlet mall.

[JuniperLea]

3. And the dinosaurs...

At the Wheel Inn...