2013 to May 3 is quietest year ever for US forest fires

5/5/13, "Quietest Year On Record For US Forest Fires," Steven Goddard

 "2013 is having the coldest spring on record, the fewest tornadoes on record, and also the fewest forest fires on record.

National Interagency Fire Center

The Guardian reported earlier that “much of Southern California is burning” - though they have since removed that text from their web site. 15,849 acres have burned in California, which is .015% of the state’s 104,765,440 acres."

============================

Man who started a California wildfire in 2003 was given the death penalty in 2013

1/28/13, "Arsonist gets death for Calif. fire that killed 5," AP 

"An arsonist was given the death penalty Monday for killing five men who died of heart attacks during a wildfire nearly a decade ago that ripped through the hills east of Los Angeles.

Rickie Lee Fowler, 31, was convicted in August of five counts of first-degree murder and two counts of arson. A jury later recommended the death sentence.

Prosecutors said Fowler lit the fire in October 2003 out of rage after he was thrown out of a house where his family was staying.

"Today, after nearly 10 years, justice has now been secured for the victims and their families, and those whose lives were affected by the actions of Rickie Lee Fowler," San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos said."... 




.