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 BEAUMONT, Calif. (AP) - Firefighters aided by dying winds appeared to be winning the battle Sunday against a 63-square-mile wildfire that killed four of their own and destroyed more than 30 homes.
The 40,450-acre blaze, which authorities say was set by an arsonist, was 70 percent contained four days after blowtorch gusts overran a U.S. Forest Service crew. Four members were killed and a fifth was left clinging to life with burns over most of his body.
The blaze was still threatening a wilderness area plagued by drought and filled with dead trees, but fire officials were confident that if they could keep it out of that area they could have it under control by Tuesday night.
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