2 Firefighters Suffer Burns as 3 Blazes Char 3,000 Acres

Arson, a poorly tended campfire and sparks kicked up by target practice ricochets were blamed Monday for three Southern California wildfires that burned nearly 3,000 acres and injured two firefighters.

Dry desert winds and temperatures topping 100 degrees aggravated firefighting efforts.

California Department of Forestry Capt. Dave Howard was caught in a firestorm as he battled a 700-acre arson blaze near Hemet and suffered severe burns to about half his body, department spokesman Tim Span reported.

Howard, one of about 200 firefighters battling the blaze about 85 miles from Los Angeles, was airlifted to the Sherman Oaks Community Hospital burn center. He was in critical but stable condition, Span said.

The fire, thought to have been intentionally set by the side of a road, was surrounded late Sunday night. Span said lingering hot spots were expected to be doused by midnight Monday.

Another Riverside County fire near Winchester blackened 1,800 acres after a campfire spread to nearby brush Sunday, Span said.

A woman jail inmate digging a fire line at the blaze suffered burns over a small area of her body, but further details of her condition were unavailable, Span said.

About 300 firefighters had surrounded the blaze by Monday morning. Full control was expected by midnight Monday, he said.

In San Bernardino County near Hesperia, a 200-acre brush fire sparked Sunday by gunfire ricocheting off scrap metal briefly threatened homes before it was encircled early Monday, Forestry Department spokeswoman Holly Kress said.