PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- At least four firefighters died Thursday battling a fast-moving wildfire near Palm Springs, Calif., that officials blamed on arson.
John Hawkins, an official with the California Dept. of Forestry in Riverside County, said the blaze was "a deliberately set arson fire," CNN reported. He said the firefighters' deaths were "murder."
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes and several buildings have been gutted by the fire, which was eported shortly after midnight, the Los Angeles Times reported. The fire, spread by Santa Ana winds, had consumed thousands of acres by midday.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency in the county and ordered flags at state buildings to fly at half-staff in honor of the firefighters.
Lori Cornell and her boyfriend fled at 4:30 a.m. with their horses, donkeys and mules in a trailer, returning a few hours later to find that their house and all their possessions had been destroyed.
Nye Frank, a former firefighter, said the four who died were caught by a fire hard to anticipate.
"It's not a good place to be in a fire," said Frank. "With winds blowing east to west, you are in a high place, with flames coming uphill. You are quickly in harm's way."
The Esperanza fire is about 20 miles northwest of Palm Springs in Riverside County, southeast of Los Angeles.
This has been a disastrous year so far for fires in California. A wet spring brought lush vegetation that dried into kindling during a dry summer.
