Investigators looked for several men who may be responsible for starting the Hawarden Fire in the city of Riverside while fire crews made more progress in containing the blaze Tuesday.
Amid triple-digit temperatures, firefighters with the Riverside Fire Department were able to contain 40% of the brush fire that destroyed six properties and damaged seven others.
As firefighters also monitored hot spots, authorities examined home surveillance footage that showed several men were starting fireworks.
“We have zero tolerance for actions putting our community at risk and in danger. This kind of behavior is unacceptable,” Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. “We will ensure [the suspects] are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
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The footage, which police did not release to protect the investigation, also showed the suspects running away in a car as soon as the fireworks went off.
“This is a dry brush area, so it’s insane to me that people are out on one of the hottest days of the year in dry brush doing fireworks when they are illegal,” Jamie Moreno, a Riverside neighbor, said. “The risk that poses to everybody –- I don’t understand what they were thinking.”
The fire response cost the city at least $1 million while the damages to the homes are estimated to be about $10 million.
