Investigators said Thursday they are seeking
arson and murder charges against a man suspected of setting a Southern
California wildfire last week that killed five firefighters.
The
suspect, Raymond Lee Oyler, 36, is already under arrest on suspicion of setting
two other wildfires over the summer. Investigators sought to charge Oyler with
murder, arson and use of an incendiary device, Undersheriff Neil Lingle said. A
woman who answered the phone at the home of Oyler's mother said she had no
comment. The blaze was the deadliest for firefighters since 14 were killed in
July 1994 near Glenwood Springs, Colo., according to the National Interagency
Fire Center statistics. Riverside County prosecutors had not yet filed any
charges Thursday against Oyler, who was expected to appear at his first court
hearing on Thursday. Oyler remained jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail.