Mayor Patrick Morris

A prison inmate has pleaded not guilty to arson and murder charges for a 2003 wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and was linked to five heart attack deaths in Southern California. San Bernardino County prosecutors say 28-year-old Rickie Lee Fowler entered his plea Thursday in Superior Court. Fowler is already serving time in state prison for burglary. He faces five counts of murder, one count of aggravated arson and one count of arson of an inhabited structure. The so-called Old Fire erupted in the San Bernardino Mountains above the city of San Bernardino in October 2003 and eventually swept across 140 square miles. ... Read Full Story

Firefighters launched an aggressive ground and air assault Sunday against a wind-fanned wildfire that erupted in the San Gabriel Mountains and threatened a popular resort community. Crews spent the day cutting fire lines while battling erratic winds. Helicopters and air tankers, which were briefly grounded due to the weather, dropped water and retardant on the blaze, which doubled overnight to 3,500 acres. Flames, chewing through chaparral and timber, advanced within a quarter-mile of the mountain resort community of Wrightwood, which was under mandatory evacuation. By Sunday afternoon, firefighters were cautiously optimistic about keeping the fire at bay. "Firefighters have been able to beat the ... Read Full Story

A fire driven by winds of 40 mph destroyed three homes and threatened dozens of others in a rugged warren of mountains and canyons northeast of San Bernardino on Saturday. As a huge wall of flames chewed through thick timber and brush in the Lytle Creek area 15 miles northeast of San Bernardino, residents of some 50 homes in its path fled, taking horses and pets with them. No injuries were reported. "We do have structures lost, three homes in Swarthout Canyon," said Norma Bailey, a fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service. The area is not far from Interstate 15, a major ... Read Full Story

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County, where two wildfires are threatening nearly 3,000 homes. The governor made the announcement as he toured the county east of Los Angeles on Tuesday. Los Angeles, Monterey, Mariposa and Placer counties already have emergency declarations because of fires. In San Bernardino County, about 2,100 people have been ordered evacuated from 900 homes in Yucaipa (yoo-KYE'-puh). The size of the mandatory evacuation doubled Tuesday as rising winds drove flames within a quarter-mile of houses. The 640-acre blaze was 45 percent contained. A few miles away, the 1,013-acre Oak Glen fire was 40 ... Read Full Story

A woman walking under a tree was struck and killed by lightning, one of thousands of strikes that touched off spot fires and injured seven others as a gusty storm pounded California. Another woman was killed by a falling tree. Authorities said Tina Bond, 40, was killed by a bolt Wednesday afternoon as she walked along a sidewalk in Fontana, in San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles. Police Sgt. Jeff Decker said the bolt blew out the bottoms of the victim's shoes and hurled some of her clothing 30 feet away. National Weather Service meteorologist James Oh said there was at least one ... Read Full Story