Three Years Later: Esperanza Fire Memory Lingers
CABAZON – Family members of firefighters killed in the 2006 Esperanza blaze will gather in Cabazon today on the arson-set wildfire’s third anniversary.
During a small ceremony at Cal Fire Station 24, some families will gather to remember Mark Loutzenhiser, Jess McLean, Jason McKay, Daniel Hoover-Najera and Pablo Cerda. The crew of U.S. Forest Service Engine 57 died the morning of Oct. 26, 2006 when they were overrun while defending a home in Poppet Flats near Idyllwild.
During today’s ceremony, fire officials will hold the ceremony at the station’s Esperanza memorial. At noon, a radio call will go out on fire department and U.S. Forest Service frequencies to call for a moment of silence.
In June, Beaumont auto mechanic Raymond Lee Oyler was sentenced to death for setting the blaze off Esperanza Road south of Cabazon in the hillsides across from the Morongo Casino. He was convicted of multiple counts of arson and five counts of murder.
