The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 588

ilos Angeles Slimes FIRE: Parents to Get Bill for Blaze 6 Sunday. June 2b. I)8K tleN OIV llUISriU (MIIIT SJ 'Somehow God smiled on us that particular day. This one could have killed us, except it lacked Mother Nature to help it. A kid doesn't even realize there's any human threat there Harold McCann omily assistant lne (hid .1 ZiAWZTxmZitL' a i a cat i v-r i a i-K aw 1 vwy iZiPw1 THE UNDISPUTED WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Continued from Page I iihmH of Forestry are nuimlatoil by law lo sock restitution whenever possible.

Payment can be required by a judge as part of a criminal sentence or can be secured through a civil lawsuit. When blame for a fire can be affixed to an individual, restitution demands are at least partially successful about 75 of the time, according to Keith Metcalfe, the California Department of Forestry fire prevention officer responsible for Southern California. "We generally always go after suppression costs," he said. People whose property has been damaged can also sue to recover their losses. "It can be both a cost-recovery and an educational tool," Metcalfe said.

Many Payments Made Metcalfe's department has collected payments of anywhere from S250 to From January through May of this year, the department has received restitution payments of S672.000. The department can come up short when people have no income, but even those who cannot afford the full amount are not let off. Metcalfe said i one Riverside man makes court-ordered monthly payments of $200 on a $50,000 judgement for a fire he started in 1972. "Fire suppression is not cheap." said Maryn Pitt, assistant director of the Forestry Department, which is charged with protecting most private land in the stale. "There's not really any reason why the taxpayers should have to subsidize some people's foolish mistake." This summer is ripe for scorching mistakes.

Although state and local fire officials admit they often warn the public about dry, dangerous conditions, they stress that Southern California's brush is drier than it has ever been. Hiked Into Hills "Hillsides are like a tindcrbox ready to explode," said county Assistant Fire Chief Harold McCann, who directed firefighters' battle against the Duarte blaze. "That showed up there in the mountains that night." Earlier that afternoon the four particular day," McCann said. "This one could have killed us, except it lacked Mother Nature to help it. A kid doesn't even realize there's any human threat there." After being questioned for several hours, the teen-agers were released to their parents.

"They showed some remorse," Ablott said. "But they had no idea the damage they could do. And you have to realize another thing: they could have died up there." Last week, charges of causing an unlawful brush fire were filed against the boys. After an investigation, county fire officials said they will proceed with a civil lawsuit against the boys' families to try to recover fircfighting costs. Area Burned in 1980 Some homeowners said the teen-agers deserved any punishment they may receive.

In 1980, a massive brush fire in the area claimed 49 homes. "I would tend to feel sorry for them." said Sharon Weir, who loaded tax records, photographs and valuables into her car in case her family had to evacuate. "But they were of an accountable age. If my kids had done something like that, I would have expected to be held responsible." Probable Sentence If the boys are sentenced to a corrections facility, Ablott said, they will probably have to serve on fircfighting crews. Debbie Ayers, whose husband helped firefighters cut away bone-dry brush between the flames and homes, said that would be a fitting punishment.

"When they were working against the fire, they really felt the kids should feel what it's like," said Ayers, looking up toward the burnt hillside just above her home. "They probably feel bad, but I hope they recognize the impact of what they did. I mean, we were concerned about losing our home." Watch the light of the year at the WEST COMA RED ONION, ALLYOU-CANEAT-BUFFET Hamburgers 'Hot Dogs Tacos Pizza Salads Plus More! boys, whose names have not been released because they arc under 18, followed a dirt path into the hills. They described what happened next to Ablott. For fun, they began lighting patches of brush with a cigarette lighter and stamping out the fires.

One of the boys said the hills were too dry to experiment with, but was ignored. The fourth time they set some brush afire, they were not able to snuff out the flames. The fire quickly spread up the hillside, turning into a full-fledged inferno, and the teen-agers ran. Neighbors, however, saw the boys enter and leave the hills and pointed them out to police. Deputies collared them at a nearby park.

Minor Injuries Within minutes, the blaze had charred several acres, spreading up the hills toward the Angeles National Forest and down toward dense neighborhoods between Las Lomas and Mel Canyon roads. A mushroom cloud of smoke billowed into the sky as the firefighters fanned out between the flames and homes. Light winds and rising humidity helped fire crews, blowing the fire uphill and away from homes. McCann said. Six firefighters received minor injuries, but none were seriously hurt.

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a f7i 'i ia rx. I 1 mm ri si a. (i tstvi.x 7riNr Continued from Page 1 But Schabarum insisted that his reasons for denying the permit were exclusively related to "land use principles." "To even insinuate that it is a religious issue is nonsense," the supervisor said. Schabarum aide Mark Volmert conceded that the board had approved three churches in the area since 1978, two of them in 1985. "But all are located at major intersections." he said.

The Buddhist land is at a mid-block location, creating possible traffic complications, he said. Orthodox Church Rejected Volmert added that the board last year had rejected a proposed Russian Orthodox church on a nearby site, because it was at the end of a cul-de-sac. "Mid-block locations raise questions about access and egress." Volmert said. "It was exactly the same issue." Schabarum said. The Thai group, after buying the five-acre plot two years ago.

alienated many of its neighbors when members of the congregation began playing loud, amplified chimes every morning at 7 and marching barefoot through the streets, chanting blessings. They also conducted religious services without obtaining a required county permit. "This group of folks started out on a very bad foot in the neighborhood, conducting activities that were clearly in violation of the law," Schabarum said. But Jack Spahn. the group's paid spokesman, said the Buddhists had desisted from all of those practices.

The group, which numbers about 100. now conducts its services at a nearby public school. Asserting that there is only one other Thai Buddhist facility in the county. Spahn suggested that the board allow the group to operate for one year. "If they mess up, throw them out," he said.

Warren Bates, a neighbor of the Buddhists, testified that group members were "very friendly people, just noisy." Bates, who owns a nearby gas station, said the group disrupted the neighborhood with traffic and kitchen noises. The group at one time washed dishes in an outside sink, which has since been removed. "There are delivery trucks, vans he said. "It's quite irritating on a constant basis. These people are open all the time." But another neighbor.

Carmelo Cortcz, said that Christian churches were even more disruptive. "They sing in the morning, they sing in the afternoon," Cortez said of one nearby Christian church. "The Buddhist temple has about 70 parking spots, but the church only has facilities for 10 or 15. That means they all park on the street." Considering Options The Buddhists, in a quick hallway meeting after the decision, discussed their options. They can sell the property, revise their plans for a meditation center and submit it anew or reapply with the current plan in a year while continuing to use it as a residence.

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