European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a the stars and stripes saturday october 26, 1991workers deny they kindled Bla Zemen reportedly burned Brush illegally Oakland Calif. A construction workers have denied they started an Oakland firestorm that killed 24 people and caused an estimated $5 billion damage. Several area residents have said the workers were illegally burning Brush and May have started the fire oct. 19. Arson investigator sgt. Ron Hanson said he interviewed building contractor Victor Allis and two of his employees. They said they were not responsible for the fire Hanson said. A the fire did not Start on my property a Allis told the Sacramento Bee. The two men working for him Manuel Godinez 27, and Rafael Godinez 18, said they were putting tile in a bathroom when the fire started. Allis said he was converting a shed to a Cabin on property he was buying. Open burning is against the Law in Oakland. Violators face a Fine of $500 and a jail sentence of six months to one year. A it could take quite awhile to figure out what caused it a said firefighter John Sel Vin. A there Are so Many rumours going around that they have to Check them All  the Blaze began oct. 19, was snuffed out and flared the next Day. Of the 24 people killed coroners officials have released the identities of 10, including two people identified thursday. They were Martha Gabriela Reed is of Orinda and Louis Douglas Mcneary 44, of Oakland. The Blaze the costliest in . History destroyed at least 3,000 houses or apartments and injured 148 people. Workers also began erecting Wood and mesh barriers throughout the vegetation stripped Hills above the san Francisco Bay in an Effort to prevent a rainstorm forecast for the weekend from triggering potentially disastrous mudslides. Searchers using dogs also continued to look for the one or two people author a photographer takes pictures of the burned out remains of former baseball great Reggie Jackson s garage in Oakland. Tics said were still missing. As soon As authorities finish looking for the victims a a task expected to take a few More Days a fabric is to be placed Over hillsides to hold soil in place. As teams and dogs continued the search for bodies a few homeowners wandered through their burned out houses. Two Street sweepers pushed Ash to the Side of the Street and a few joggers trotted through the blackened landscape. Joan Sautter poked through the ruins of her House looking for anything that might have survived. A clothes dryer still stood but when she opened the door to see whether her clothes had survived she found Only a pile of ashes. One find was heartening a a Ceramic cup that her now grown daughter made her As a Little girl. The fury of the Blaze which reached temperatures of 2,000 degrees amazed even firefighters. A it was an awesome animal this fire a said firefighter Rich Medeiros. A a in be never seen anything like it. 1 know everybody s saying that but if you were there you a see that the fire was  sales of Scarlett top 5 million Atlanta apr the sequel to gone with the wind sold More than 5 million copies worldwide in its first month and tops Best seller lists in 40 countries an agent said thursday. Film and television rights could be announced soon. Scarlett the sequel to Margaret Mitchell s a gone with the wind was published sept. 25. It sold 1 million copies in the United states and Canada in 10 Days said Robert Gottlieb head of the literary department at the William Morris Agency which represents Scarlett author Alexandra Ripley. Publicist Karen Mcdermott of Warner books the novels publisher declined to give exact sales figures but said thursday that there Are 1.4 million copies in print in the United states and Canada. Gottlieb said Domestic sales for Scarlett Are Between 35,000 and 50,000 copies daily. Other countries where it Heads the Best seller charts include Germany China Norway Spain and Ireland where much of the novel takes place. Scarlett has also boosted sales for gone with the wind. Barry Lippman president of Macmillan adult books said Between 75,000 and 100,000 hardcover copies have been shipped since the sequels publication and expects More than 200,000 to move by Christmas. Friday was the last Day that bids were to be accepted for film and television rights for the sequel Gottlieb said. He said that offers have been in the seven figure Range and that a decision might be reached As soon As Friday by Mitchells estate. Gottlieb said there have been offers to make it into a feature film a to movie and a to miniseries. T. Hal Clarke the Atlanta attorney for the Mitchell estate said the family will look at producers and the amount of Money offered before making its Choice. Gone with the wind published in 1936, won the pulitzer prize and has sold More than 25 million copies worldwide. Patrol credited with a boat s sinking Point pleasant Blach . A a German submarine trom world War ii found off the new Jersey coast May have been sunk by a depth charge from a civilian aircraft in july 1942. Henry Keats professor of biology and oceanography at Suffolk Community College in Long Island  the theory advanced by a civil air patrol historian appears plausible. A i know of no other possibility Quot Keats said. Its roughly in the location that this a boat was  in Early september a diving team found the a boat about 65 Miles East of Point pleasant at a depth of 230 feet. Divers pulled up two bowls and three dishes each with a 1942 stamp a nazi Eagle and Swastika. They also found a gun sight with a Swastika on it. Civil air patrol historian maj. Gregory Weidenfeld said an Atlantic City civil air base sent out a Grumman Widgeon plane after a sub was spotted about 40 Miles cast of Atlantic City on july 1, 1942. The two pilots in the plane followed the sub for six hours and then dropped a depth charge that caused an Oil Slick to Rise to the surface Weidenfeld said. They dropped a second charge into the Center of the Slick. Keatts said the find is historically important. Quot it will add to world War 11 naval history a Keatts  poll finds dwindling esteem for Congress parties Washington apr the anti government mood of the country is reflected in a poll released thursday that shows Public esteem for Congress and the two major political parties declined in the past month. Just 50 percent of americans hold a favourable View of Congress according to a Gallup poll of 1,000 adults conducted oct. 17-20. That was Down 9 percentage Points from a september poll by the same organization. The latest Gallup poll also showed a 5-Point drop in the democratic party a favo ability rating a from an already historical Low of 63 percent in september to 58 percent this month. Republicans sufferedlt4ipoia t drop from 69 percent to 65 percent. The Telephone Survey was conducted after the Senate hearings on supreme court Justice Clarence Thomas and revelations of congressional perquisite abuses a bounced checks at the House Bank unpaid House restaurant tabs and fixed parking tickets for members of Congress. President Bush s Overall approval rating stayed at roughly 66 percent through the tumultuous period. In fact 55 percent of voters in the poll said recent events in Washington would make them More Likely to vote to re elect Bush in 1992. The Survey had a margin of error of 3 percentage Points