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 RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - A blaze that killed five federal firefighters last year has emboldened those who question the cost of saving the ever expanding number of homes on the fringe of wilderness.
The five perished last fall while protecting an empty mountain vacation home from the Southern California fire, which authorities say was started by a 36-year-old auto mechanic now charged with murder.
However, the deaths also were blamed on social and political pressures and decisions to put homes before the safety of firefighters, according to a report from the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection and the U.S. Forest Service.
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