LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Today’s Agua Dulce Fire 2011 (map above) prompted closures of the 14 Freeway closures temporarily. Tonight the Agua Dulce is no longer threatening homes and structures. But at 4:30 pm, that was not the case. Fire officials told Los Angeles news Sunday that a fire broke out Saturday afternoon near Agua Dulce Canyon Road, the 14 Freeway and Vasquez Rocks County Park.

Initially, California Highway Patrol had closed all lanes of the 14 Freeway as the fire’s blaze approached that section of the route connecting Palmdale and Lancaster with Santa Clarita. Ritter Ranch Park official also remained on alert.

But moment ago, at 6 PM PST, LAFD officials told news that the northbound lanes of the 14 Freeway remain closed, but southbound lanes are reopened. The fire in just a few hours had grown to thirty acres. But by Saturday evening, it was reportedly controlled, with no damage to structures.

As many as two hundred fifty firefighters were used to fight the blaze. Earlier today, Mark Savage of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a news statement that “It is 10 acres and structures are threatened.” But by 4 pm LAFP had control of the blaze. Fire official reported the same, issuing a news statement at 5 pm that the fire was now at “75% containment. 30 acres. Fire is terrain driven.”

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ST LOUIS (LALATE) – The Horseshoe Two Fire (fire map below), one of two Arizona wildfires pushing towards New Mexico, continues to rage today. The Horseshoe Two Fire which began May 8 is now at fifty percent containment but has become the state’s first largest wildfire ever. Reaching over ninety thousand acres this weekend and over one hundred forty square miles, the Horseshoe Two Fire is spawning more trouble as it and the Alpine fire send smoke towards Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In a news statement today, officials report the Horseshoe Two Fire is five miles south of Portal, Arizona, is being battled with forty two engines and twenty-four water tankers. On Friday, the fire got to Paradise. As of Saturday, evacuations are in place for Paradise and East Whitetail Canyon while the Chiricahua National Monument is closed.

In a news statement today, officials state “Structure protection will continue in Paradise and in East Whitetail Canyon which is 3 to 4 miles north of the fire front.” An updated fire map has been issued HERE.

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Additionally “line construction will be initiated around the northeastern portion of the Chiricahua Wilderness connecting the Pinery Canyon and West Turkey Creek roads.”

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ST LOUIS (LALATE) – A Blain, PA farmhouse blaze has killed seven children. The farmhouse blaze happened on Madison Road in Blain Tuesday evening. The milk farm was home to parents and their eight children. Shortly after 11 pm, the mother was elsewhere on the property milking cows, the father around town delivering their milk, and the eight children (ages 7 months to 11 years old) were in the home.

Suddenly a three year old smelled smoke and ran to the barn to get to the mother. Perry County dispatchers do not note if the mother called them. But she ran to one neighbor’s house, and found no one. Then she reportedly ran to a second house, and found someone to call 911. Then she ran one mile down the road to find her husband.

When she returned to the property, fire trucks were on scene and all seven remaining children were dead. The three year old surviving.

A local coroner’s office says the children all died of smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The American Red Cross is assisting the family.

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ROSEVILLE (LALATE) – Tonight the Roseville Galleria Mall fire is under control; police say the Roseville Galleria Mall fire and the Wal-Mart fire in Antelope (Sacramento County) were set by the same person. As of 7 pm tonight, the Roseville Galleria Mall fire is controlled but still burning. Local fire will not confirm which of the 240 stores inside the mall have suffered damage. But despite an arrest at 1 pm, Roseville Galleria Mall is still sending flames from its roof tonight.

Roseville Galleria Mall houses stores including JCPenney, Sears, and Nordstrom. But early today, one particular store was the destination of a 23-year old man: GameStop. His name is Alexander Piggee, as reported earlier on LALATE. Online, he goes by simply Alex Piggee. Police have arrested Alexander Corney Piggee (which local news incorrectly first identified as Pigge) for the Roseville fire.

Alexander Piggee didn’t go to the store to shop. In fact, investigators on scene at the Roseville Galleria Mall still are not quite sure what Piggee’s purpose was being at the mall. They claim that Piggee was at Wal-Mart earlier Thursday. Investigators alleged that Piggee was an employee of the Wal-Mart store, set a fire there, then headed to Roseville Galleria Mall, and set another fire there. When police responded to Wal-Mart’s fire, Piggee was gone. When they got to Roseville Galleria Mall, Piggee allegedly was hiding. After they located Alexander Piggee, police claim he had left somewhere else in the Roseville Galleria Mall a backpack. Police allegedly located the backpack. But before they could determine what was it in, a roof collapsed. By evening Thursday, the backpack is now buried under debris at the Roseville Galleria Mall.

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Alexander Piggee told investigators that he had a firearm. They also report an initial standoff with Piggee. Adding to the mystery of today’s fire, officials confirm the Roseville Galleria Mall fire had prompted evacuations at 10:30 am, that the fire died down by early afternoon, and then at 2 pm, another blaze erupted shooting black clouds into the sky. The fire was so strong that throughout Thursday evening it continued to burn.

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On myspace, Alexander Piggee has countless photos he captioned as being drunk. In one picture there is a disposable propane cylinder that appears on a kitchen counter next to shot glasses. As reported earlier here, friends of Alexander Piggee say his mom recently kicked him out of the house. He calls his mother his hero on Myspace. Friends tell local news that Alexander Piggee had recently been living in a homeless shelter and posting constant messages of anger to his Facebook profile.

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ROSEVILLE (LALATE) – Alexander Piggee aka Alex Piggee or Pigee (photos below) has been arrested in the Roseville Galleria Mall fire.  Friends of Alexander Corney Piggee tell local news that, on Myspace and Facebook, the 23-year old had in recent days been exhibiting peculiar conduct.

Piggee (which is incorrectly being reported as “Pigge”) is originally from Stockton. Friends tell investigators and local news that on Facebook within the last few days Piggee was posting five to six angry messages per hour. On Facebook Alex Piggee’s profile image is not his face but a “Hustler” chain. On Myspace, Alex Piggee’s profile says that he likes to “go shopping for new [stuff]” and says “my heroe is my mother, sports, and faith, because with out all of those things I would not be where I’m at today.” Yet local news is reporting that his mother recently kicked him out. Today Alex Piggee didn’t go shopping for new stuff at the Roseville Galleria Mall. In fact, police aren’t so sure why Piggee allegedly set a fire in the first place.

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Piggee’s coworker and friend tells CBS13 that Piggee was in a car accident recently; had been taking Oxycontin; and had been kicked out of the house by his mom. Numerous reports claim tonight that Piggee was living in a homeless shelter.

Piggee is charged with aggravated arson and criminal threats for the Roseville Galleria Mall fire. But police believe Piggee set a fire at the Wal-Mart in Antelope also today before heading to the Galleria Mall. Once Sacramento Fire was on scene at Wal-Mart, Piggee was gone. Piggee headed to the GameStop in the Roseville Galleria; he was wearing a purple t-shirt with the message “Pretty Boy”.  Local news say that Piggee told the GameStop employees that his sister was abducted by aliens. As of 5 pm PST, the fire in the Galleria mall was still active.

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Piggee has also worked in In-N-Out in West Sacramento. A graduate of Highlands High in North Highlands in 2005, Piggee in 2008 entered Los Rios Community College District Office for nursing and dental hygiene. On Myspace, Piggee said he enjoyed going to movies every weekend to see “fictional movies, and action” stating that “[you] always gotta have some fighting, bone breaking, killing, movies in your life.”

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