California Fires..... Don't Rule Out Terrorism

As we continue to watch the devastation of the California fires and hear of the thousands that have been displaced, their homes in ruins and the discovery of those who perished,

not many are aware what the Union Democrat.com was reporting on Sept 28, 2007. It seems that Fire Officials at two California Fire station reported suspicious men taking photos of their stations, and it appears that this was not an isolated incident, with four other similar incidents occurring in Northern California in previous months.

During one such incident the captain of the fire house had approached the two men who he noticed were acting suspiciously and were taking pictures of his firehouse, which did not appear to have any legitimate purpose, he said when he went outside to talk with them, they appeared to be somewhere in their 40's , had spoken broken English and may have been of middle eastern descent, they told him they were students of a local university, and hurried away. The fire captain got the license plate number, and called law enforcement officials that advised that the car was a rental. At the time, it didn't appear to be of much concern, but the captain did have a passing thought that a threat to security could have been an issue.

Shortly afterwards, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued warnings to fire stations in California because of what appeared to be convert surveillance of the fire departments response taking photo's.

Just a few days ago, law enforcement and other officials have stated that the fires were deliberately set. It has been said that the individuals who started these fires knew exactly what they were doing.

At least two suspects have been identified, and Russell Lane Daves 27, of Topock Arizona was shot to death by San Bernardino police when he fled offices who approached when they thought it appeared that he had been trying to start a fire. 5 people have been arrested on suspicion of arson, but have not been linked to any of the major blazes.

Interestingly, On June 25, 2003, the FBI bulletin that was sent to US law enforcement agencies revealed that a senior al Qaeda detainee claimed to have developed a plan to start forest fires in the U.S , their ultimate target was California using the drought and weather patters to act as a catalyst to make the fire more damaging, a condition that exists during and at the end of Ramadan. This year, Ramadan concluded on Oct. 12, 2007.

There has been some suggestions but the report has not been confirmed that at least one device that consists in part of a timing device or detonation mechanism that was found at the point of origin, it had the components of cellular phones fashioned in a manner that it could serve as a method of staring a fire in several areas.

It will be interesting to find out at the conclusion of the arson investigation if there will be more detonation mechanisms found that the fires can be attributed to. Our Homeland Security Department is very much aware of the instructions on Arabic language internet forums that illustrate methods of using cellular phones as detonation contrivance for bombs or incendiary devices.