Malibu Fire Is Labeled An Arson; At Least Three Dead; Blaze 70% Contained

The mystery of the Malibu fire rests here, on a blackened knoll inthe shadow of two squat, beige water tanks that were crucial in thebattle this week against one of Southern California's worstfirestorms.

Through a process of elimination, investigators have labeled thiskiller fire an arson. No natural cause was found after three days ofsearching. No rational source, such as downed power lines sparkingbrush, could be deduced, they said.

This blaze that raced down from Calabasas to Malibu was the latestterror in two weeks of fiery destruction here. It was one of morethan two dozen blazes whose origins, some of them suspicious, countyand state arson experts are trying to determine.

"We're still sorting through tips," said Capt. William Franklin ofthe Los Angeles County Fire Department's arson unit. How many tips?"I don't think I can count that high," he said. "I have 150 fromyesterday and today alone."

Lisa Boyd, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestryand Fire Protection, said: "It's likely that many of the fires werehuman-caused. Whether they were arson or not, we don't know. It canbe even a hot tailpipe that sparks a fire."

Firefighters made progress today against lingering flames and saidthey had contained more than 70 percent of the Malibu blaze. At leastfive days of relief are in sight, forecasters said, with oceanbreezes and cooler weather, a welcome contrast to the Santa Ana windsthat fueled the infernos.

Authorities said arson is suspected in a majority of the blazesthat have ravaged six counties of Southern California since Oct. 26.About 200 people have been reported injured in fires that destroyedmore than 1,100 buildings and burned across more than 200,000 acres.The Malibu blaze was the only one known to have resulted in deaths.

Duncan Gibbins, 41, a British film director, died Wednesday ofburns suffered when he entered a house a few hundred yards from thewater tanks to find his cat. Today, two other charred bodies wererecovered from an isolated section of Carbon Canyon, above MalibuBeach, after neighbors reported two longtime residents missing.

The county coroner was conducting autopsies to determineidentities and cause of death, authorities said, after the bodieswere retrieved by helicopter this afternoon.

One body was found inside a pickup truck and the other beside thetruck, both burned beyond recognition, authorities said. Officials inthe coroner's office said dental records would be needed to determineidentities.

Discovery of the bodies heightened interest in determining how thefire began. Fire officials said anyone charged in the fire could faceadditional charges of homicide in the three deaths.

The Malibu blaze was reported at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday by Bob Selman,who lives down a hill from the water tanks. He said he calledauthorities after electricity went off in his home office and he wentoutside to investigate and saw flames near the tanks.

When Selman, who conducts a mail-order gem business from his ranch-style home, hung up the phone, he said, the flames "were five timesmy size. There was no way to stop it." Ten minutes later, when fireequipment arrived, he said, flames had crossed Old Topanga CanyonRoad and were steamrolling toward the coast below.

Selman was one of more than a dozen people interviewed by arsoninvestigator Ron Ablott, who pronounced this blaze arson after threedays of investigation. Ablott said today that he was sure the firewas "no accident."

Several people, including Selman, reported seeing two men near thesuspected source of the blaze, but Ablott described them today aswitnesses, not suspects. After the blaze had passed, he said, the twowalked the fire's path and were able to help him pinpoint the routeof flames that ate through a landscape of dry manzanita and scrub oakwithin minutes.

"We have witnesses who actually saw the fire and where itstarted," Ablott said. "There was traffic on the highway, and thatmade it a lot easier to determine. The fire scene was actually theeasiest part of this investigation" because of the number of peoplethere.

Ironically, the fire began just feet from Old Summit Tank, a keypart of the water network used to contain brush fires that oftenoccur here when treacherous Santa Ana flare for about a month eachyear.

The 500,000-gallon tank was sorely tested during the three daysthat the blaze hopscotched from Topanga Canyon down to the beach andsouth toward Tuna Canyon. By the last hours of the assault by firecrews Thursday, the reservoir was almost depleted, county waterofficials said.

Malibu Fire Is Labeled An Arson; At Least Three Dead; Blaze 70% Contained

The mystery of the Malibu fire rests here, on a blackened knoll inthe shadow of two squat, beige water tanks that were crucial in thebattle this week against one of Southern California's worstfirestorms.

Through a process of elimination, investigators have labeled thiskiller fire an arson. No natural cause was found after three days ofsearching. No rational source, such as downed power lines sparkingbrush, could be deduced, they said.

This blaze that raced down from Calabasas to Malibu was the latestterror in two weeks of fiery destruction here. It was one of morethan two dozen blazes whose origins, some of them suspicious, countyand state arson experts are trying to determine.

"We're still sorting through tips," said Capt. William Franklin ofthe Los Angeles County Fire Department's arson unit. How many tips?"I don't think I can count that high," he said. "I have 150 fromyesterday and today alone."

Lisa Boyd, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestryand Fire Protection, said: "It's likely that many of the fires werehuman-caused. Whether they were arson or not, we don't know. It canbe even a hot tailpipe that sparks a fire."

Firefighters made progress today against lingering flames and saidthey had contained more than 70 percent of the Malibu blaze. At leastfive days of relief are in sight, forecasters said, with oceanbreezes and cooler weather, a welcome contrast to the Santa Ana windsthat fueled the infernos.

Authorities said arson is suspected in a majority of the blazesthat have ravaged six counties of Southern California since Oct. 26.About 200 people have been reported injured in fires that destroyedmore than 1,100 buildings and burned across more than 200,000 acres.The Malibu blaze was the only one known to have resulted in deaths.

Duncan Gibbins, 41, a British film director, died Wednesday ofburns suffered when he entered a house a few hundred yards from thewater tanks to find his cat. Today, two other charred bodies wererecovered from an isolated section of Carbon Canyon, above MalibuBeach, after neighbors reported two longtime residents missing.

The county coroner was conducting autopsies to determineidentities and cause of death, authorities said, after the bodieswere retrieved by helicopter this afternoon.

One body was found inside a pickup truck and the other beside thetruck, both burned beyond recognition, authorities said. Officials inthe coroner's office said dental records would be needed to determineidentities.

Discovery of the bodies heightened interest in determining how thefire began. Fire officials said anyone charged in the fire could faceadditional charges of homicide in the three deaths.

The Malibu blaze was reported at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday by Bob Selman,who lives down a hill from the water tanks. He said he calledauthorities after electricity went off in his home office and he wentoutside to investigate and saw flames near the tanks.

When Selman, who conducts a mail-order gem business from his ranch-style home, hung up the phone, he said, the flames "were five timesmy size. There was no way to stop it." Ten minutes later, when fireequipment arrived, he said, flames had crossed Old Topanga CanyonRoad and were steamrolling toward the coast below.

Selman was one of more than a dozen people interviewed by arsoninvestigator Ron Ablott, who pronounced this blaze arson after threedays of investigation. Ablott said today that he was sure the firewas "no accident."

Several people, including Selman, reported seeing two men near thesuspected source of the blaze, but Ablott described them today aswitnesses, not suspects. After the blaze had passed, he said, the twowalked the fire's path and were able to help him pinpoint the routeof flames that ate through a landscape of dry manzanita and scrub oakwithin minutes.

"We have witnesses who actually saw the fire and where itstarted," Ablott said. "There was traffic on the highway, and thatmade it a lot easier to determine. The fire scene was actually theeasiest part of this investigation" because of the number of peoplethere.

Ironically, the fire began just feet from Old Summit Tank, a keypart of the water network used to contain brush fires that oftenoccur here when treacherous Santa Ana flare for about a month eachyear.

The 500,000-gallon tank was sorely tested during the three daysthat the blaze hopscotched from Topanga Canyon down to the beach andsouth toward Tuna Canyon. By the last hours of the assault by firecrews Thursday, the reservoir was almost depleted, county waterofficials said.