Just happened so very short summary in LA Times

A Riverside County jury today called for the death penalty in the trial of Raymond Lee Oyler, who was found guilty of arson and the murder of five firefighters for setting the deadly Esperanza fire.

The decision marks a rare case of an arsonist facing a death sentence.

The deadly wildfire was set early on the morning of Oct. 26, 2006, a few feet off of remote Esperanza Avenue in Cabazon. Investigators said Oyler, who once trained as a firefighter, had set fires throughout the San Gorgonio Pass in the months leading up to the blaze -- each time aiming for bigger infernos.

He chose a night when Santa Ana winds were blowing exceptionally hard. After making a device out of matches fastened with rubber bands around a Marlboro cigarette, prosecutors said, Oyler lit the cigarette and tossed the device into the brush. A fire was soon roaring up the San Jacinto Mountains, eventually reaching speeds of 40 mph and consuming 41,000 acres. Early the next morning, it rolled over the crew of U.S. Forest Service Engine 57 as they struggled to save a house in a steep canyon.

Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, 43; Jess McLean, 27; Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20; and Jason McKay, 27, died immediately. Pablo Cerda, 24, died a few days later. Four of the five were based in Idyllwild.

-- David Kelly

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/03/the-riverside-c.html