European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 a the stars and stripes Friday october 25, 1991arson suspected in Oakland Blaze Oakland Calif. Apr the fire that killed 24 people and destroyed thousands of Homes May have been arson the fire chief said. Meanwhile rain in the forecast raised the threat of devastating mudslides. Three people who lived near the site of the Blaze were quoted thursday As saying the fire May have been started by construction workers burning debris. The costliest fire in . History began saturday As a Small Blaze that was quickly knocked Down but flared up the next Day. Driven by High winds it destroyed 2,900 houses and apartments and injured 148 people causing More than $5 billion damage. A the origin of the fire has been found. It is suspicious in nature. The fire was potentially set a Oakland fire chief p. Lamont Ewell said wednesday. A it s suspicious because we be ruled out All natural  he would not comment further pending the outcome of an investigation. But Fri agent David Williams one of three neighbors quoted in thursdays san Jose Mercury news said that the owner of a Home in the area was having a cottage House added to his property and that the fire was started in debris cleared from the site. A there is some investigation of people being up there a said Oakland fire marshal Jerry Blueford. �?o1 can Only say we Are still investigating  arson investigator sgt. Ron Hanson said two workers building a Cabin near where the fire broke out have been questioned As has the Man who hired them. He said All denied responsibility. The fire which fed on Trees and Brush dried by five years of drought left Bare 1,800 acres in the Hills overlooking san Francisco Bay. With rain forecast for today and saturday officials feared mudslides. Workers on thursday were to begin building Wood and mesh barriers to catch soil and rocks and protect Homes below. As soon As authorities finish looking for the remains of fire victims a task expected to take a few More Days fabric is to be placed Over hillsides to hold soil in place. Albert Cerna of the Federal soil conservation service said the fire destroyed Patricia Dodds right hugs her Mother Alva As the two Survey the remains of their charred Oakland Hills House in California. Not Only Trees shrubs Bushes and other greenery but also their roots leaving the soil vulnerable to erosion. A i understand there already has been some erosion just with the water used to put out the fire a he said. A a we re really concerned. Something needs to be done immediately before the bad weather sets  the death toll reached 24 on wednesday after skulls and Bone fragments of five people were found mostly in the area of the Well to do 400-unit Hiller Highlands condominium Complex which was reduced to ashes. Twenty five people were listed As missing and City manager Fleury Gardner said the death toll was expected to Rise. Rescue workers used dogs to search. A a it a a pretty tedious process a said sgt. Dan Voznik a homicide detective. A a we re mostly finding just Bone fragments and then the Coroner has to officially identity  authorities escorted hundreds of residents through the area where their Homes once stood. A your whole life is just gone a said Jack Rogers who lost a daughter in a fire 15 years ago. A a it a amazing to me that nothing is left a he said of his three Story Home. A i guess it s called Start Over  some such As Patricia Dodds said they would rebuild. A a it a like a funeral where you have to say goodbye and have some sort of closure a she said. A a we re saying goodbye to the House but we re not giving up. This is our  president Bush has declared the site a major disaster area opening the door to Federal Aid for rebuilding. The estimated $5 billion damage surpasses the $1.8 billion in losses in 1990 dollars caused by the great Chicago fire of 1871. The san Francisco quake and fire of 1906 caused $5.1 billion damage and the great Boston fire of 1872 caused $815 million  prescribes Cash for a health care woes by the Washington Post Washington a a commission that was supposed to recommend a blueprint for the future of the nation s 172 veterans hospitals has concluded that the system is a an american health asset at risk and needs lots of Money to get Well. The conclusion Laid before a joint Senate House hearing wednesday was a bitter disappointment to veterans affairs Secretary Edward j. Derwinski who had asked the 15-member panel to give him specific findings on How to reshape what is the largest Hospital system in the country. Instead the panel which spent $3.5 million and 18 months studying the a hospitals produced a generalized report that echoed what veterans organizations have been saying for decades. The need for More Money a was the simple harsh fact Quot that overwhelmed the commission said its chairman Oliver e. Meadows of Godley Texas. Meadows a former staff director of the House veterans affairs committee and National commander of the disabled american veterans described the a Hospital system As Quot about to come apart at the seams and told the hearing that Only intervention by president Bush can Salvage it. The commissions 43-Page draft report projected a 26 percent decline in the number of acute care Beds in the system by the year 2010 and set minimum bed capacities that some legislators said might doom veterans hospitals in Rural areas. But the report avoided any discussion of which of the hospitals should be Given a new Mission and what do Plica Tive medical services in Urban areas should be consolidated an omission that Deputy a Secretary Anthony Principi said a fell Short of what Derwinski had expected. A a in a disappointed that the report sounded too much washingtonian which is the Money Agenda and focused too much on the current Structure Quot Derwinski said in an interview. A we wanted a futuristic blueprint for the year 2010 and How to get  he said one of the commissions major recommendations a that other Federal agencies including medicare be billed for the costs of treating some veterans a was not  Meadows suggested that the a could gain $3 billion a year in Federal funds by charging medicare and other Federal insurance funds for the care of eligible veterans. House gives Hearty support to transportation Bill washing Ion up an ambitious six year $151 billion transportation Bill that would boost spending on highways and mass transit was passed overwhelmingly by the House on wednesday despite threats of a presidential veto. The Bill is a slightly sealed Back version of the $153 billion plan that was withdrawn this summer because of opposition to a 5-cent increase in the Federal Gaso line tax. The measure adopted 343-83, still proposes sweeping changes in the Federal government s approach to transportation planning and gives state and local governments much greater flexibility in deciding which projects to fund. The Bill would increase Money Lor Highway construction by More than 40 percent and double spending on Public transit. It provides for a $76.7 billion flexible Highway program in which up to two thirds of the Money May be transferred to mass transit at the discretion of state and local officials. The new Bill was drafted to provide More Money to those states that have complained about not getting a fair share of Federal Highway dollars. The Bill would authorize up to 35 percent Federal financing for construction or expansion of toll roads a reversal of Federal policy that has supported construction of free highways. Despite changes made in the financing. Transportation Secretary Samuel k. Skinner has warned that he will recommend president Bush veto the Bill. Among other things the administration objects to the Many special Highway and transit projects specifically authorized in the Bill