Four charred bodies found in fire zone near Mexican border

[question everything]

Source: LA Times

5:34 PM PDT, October 25, 2007

Four charred bodies of suspected illegal immigrants were found this afternoon near the Mexican border, increasing to seven the number of deaths officials have directly linked to one of the worst firestorms in California history.

U.S. Border Patrol agents found the burned bodies this afternoon north of the border town of Tecate. Officials said they suspected that the victims perished in the Harris fire, which has burned more than 80,000 acres. Officials said the bodies were at the bottom of a canyon where four illegal immigrants were rescued Sunday afternoon.

Elsewhere, the fire crisis was far from over, despite progress in corralling most of the 35 fires that have ravaged seven counties since Sunday. Firefighters were in a crucial fight this afternoon to prevent the massive arson-set Santiago blaze in Orange County from cresting a mountain range and sweeping into new residential areas.

Although optimism was growing on many other fronts of the Southern California wildfires, the situation remained volatile in the Santa Ana Mountains east of Irvine. A force of 200 firefighters, along with bulldozer teams, was working to cut a massive firebreak near the ridgeline of the range separating Orange and Riverside counties.




Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fires26oct26,1,32167.story?coll=la-headlines-california