News and opinion about wildland fire
This 5 minute video features a statement from CalFire Chief John R. Hawkins and Forest Supervisor Jeanne Wade Evans from the U.S. Forest Service. It was taped on March 6 shortly after Raymond Oyler was convicted of five counts of murder in the deaths of five U.S. Forest Service firefighters in the 2006 Esperanza fire in southern California.
The video is no longer available.
The 2-minute video below is a report from myFOXla.com about the guilty verdict.
The video is no longer available.
The Press-Enterprise, which has done an outstanding job of covering the Esperanza fire and the legal proceedings, put together this timeline of the fires that Raymond Lee Oyler is now convicted of setting. If you are using Firefox as your browser, right-click on the image and choose “view image” to see a larger version.
Author BillPosted on Categories Uncategorized2 Comments on Oyler convicted for Esperanza fire deaths 
A four-man, eight-woman jury today found Raymond Lee Oyler, 38, guilty on 42 of 45 counts against him, including five counts of first-degree murder, 20 counts of arson and 17 counts of using an incendiary device to start fires between May 16, 2006 and Oct. 26, 2006.
Jurors deadlocked on whether he started three smaller wildfires and Superior Court Judge W. Charles Morgan declared a mistrial on those counts.
Here are the verdicts broken down by individual counts (other than the murder charges, some of these are for arson, and others are for using an incendiary device–in some cases two charges for one fire):
On the first five counts Olyer was convicted of first degree murder and of special circumstances for “murder in the commission of arson” and for “multiple murders”.
District Attorney Rod Pacheco said the following about the verdicts:
We are obviously satisfied with the verdicts and that the jury was able to sort through the evidence. A substantial amount of justice has occurred, and I hope that this provides a small measure of consolation to the families of the victims.
Oyler was on trial for setting the October 26, 2006, Esperanza fire which burned 41,000 acres near Cabazon, California and resulted in the deaths of the five-person Engine 57 crew from the San Bernardino National Forest. Killed were Capt. Mark Allen Loutzenhiser, 43, Jason Robert McKay, 27, Jess Edward McLean, 27, Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, and Pablo Cerda, 24.
From the LA Times:
After the trial, the sobbing Oyler family hurried to an elevator and left the building. The families of the victims also left without speaking to the media. A U.S. Forest Service spokesman said the families would not speak until after the penalty phases, which will decide whether Oyler gets the death penalty.
Outside the courtroom, Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins praised the verdicts but noted that five firefighters will never come home.
“Their families have suffered a loss that most of us can’t imagine,” he said. “This will not bring complete closure but it will bring the defendant to justice. It will help the families move to another phase of healing.”
Jeanne Wade Evans, supervisor of the San Bernardino National Forest, said arson is a terrible crime that touches so many lives.
“We still feel the loss and we always will,” she said.
At least a dozen current and retired fire personnel filled the left side of the courtroom. They were seated directly behind relatives of the five fallen USFS crew members.
Sentencing, which could include the death penalty for the murder charges, will begin Tuesday when the jury returns for that phase.
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UPDATE November 12, 2013:
Esperanza Fire Factual Report, and the USDA Office of Inspector General’s Report on the fire.
On Thursday afternoon the jury in the trial for Raymond Oyler, accused of setting the Esperanza fire and numerous others in the summer of 2006, is deadlocked on several charges, but they did not indicate which ones. The judge, W. Charles Morgan, told them to step back and “take a look at the totality” of the evidence before excusing them for the day.
The jurors will return at 9 a.m. Friday morning to begin their sixth day of deliberations.
Oyler is charged with five counts of first-degree murder and 40 counts of arson and being in possession of destructive devices. A five-person engine crew was entrapped and died on the Esperanza fire in southern California.
Siren maker loses civil suit about hearing loss
Federal Signal, a company that makes sirens and light bars for emergency vehicles, lost a civil suit filed by nine firefighters in Cook County, Ill. who claimed they suffered hearing loss from exposure to loud fire-truck sirens. The company, which has successfully warded off many previous hearing-loss lawsuits, says they will appeal the decision and they will “fight aggressively to overturn this verdict.”
Australian fires
The town of Marysville. February 12, 2009. Photo: AAPThe southerly wind change that was expected to increase the threat of fires near Melbourne is occurring more slowly than expected but should reach the area in a matter of hours. Firefighters have been able to keep the four large fires that are still uncontrolled from spreading further.
Esperanza fire trial
In closing arguments on Thursday, the attorney defending Raymond Oyler, on trial for setting the 2006 Esperanza fire in southern California in which five USFS firefighters died, said his client DID set as many as 11 arson fires in 2006 but not the Esperanza fire. The attorney said that even though all of the fires were set with combinations of wooden matches and cigarettes, the way they were configured for the Esperanza fire was different from the other fires.
Oyler’s girlfriend told police he had bragged to her about setting fires and was disappointed that they were not larger. When she threatened to leave him if he kept setting the fires, he quit for six months, Michael Hestrin, the prosecutor said.
Hestrin told the jury, “Raymond Oyler set this fire and killed these five brave men. Hold him accountable for murder. That’s what he did. He killed these men.”
The jury began deliberations this morning at 9:15 after the judge gave them their instructions.
If you have information about the trial, send us an email (click on my photo at the very bottom of the page) or call us on the phone by clicking the “Call Me” button on the right side of this page.
Esperanza fire photo gallery
The LA Times has a collection of 16 photos of the Esperanza fire. Here is one.
UPDATE: 6:55 P.M. PT, Feb. 27
The jury ended their first day of deliberations on Friday without reaching a verdict. The four-man, eight-woman panel will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Monday.
There were some strange things going on in the Esperanza fire trial today. From KESQ:
Closing arguments have concluded in the murder trial of a California man accused of setting a wildfire that killed five firefighters, but the judge has held an unusual closed hearing.
After Thursday’s arguments, Riverside County Superior Court Judge W. Charles Morgan dismissed the public but kept the jury and attorneys behind closed doors.
Earlier in the day he also ordered the public out and called jurors in one by one.
It’s unclear what prompted the judge’s actions, but defense attorney Mark McDonald said afterward that the jury composition remains the same and the panel will return Friday for final instructions and the start of deliberations.
McDonald could not say anything more because of a gag order.
Thirty-8-year-old Raymond Oyler has pleaded not guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and other crimes. Five Forest Service firefighters were killed by the so-called Esperanza Fire in October 2006.
More details about the closing arguments are at the Desert Sun.
