COOL CARAMEL: An autumn favorite revisited, B1 MORE IN FOOD & DRINK:Sweeten your daywith fruit; Summer's close brings bold flavors, B1
INSIDE:Butte Fire snapshots,B6
THE MOTHER LODE'SLEADING INFORMATION SOURCE SINCE 1854 • SO NORA, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 201
Fowlertrial
Butte Fire
A special thank you to Union Democrat subscriberEd Gelinske, of Sonora.
8-year-old girl was stabbed 22 times
W
TOD AY'S READER DOARD
e)g
BRIEFING
By TORI THOMAS The Union Democrat
Gasps filled the Department 3 courtroom in Calaveras County Superior Court Monday as images of Leila Fowler's autopsy were shown.
Fowler, 8, was stabbed 22 times, Dr. Robert Lawrence, forensic pathologist for C alaveras, SanJoaquin and Amador coun-
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SPORTS
ties,
tes t i fied
F owl e r
By GUY McCARTHY
Changing winds a f ter sundown Sept. 9 pushed the Butte Fire south and down into the steep North Fork Mokelumne canyon and at that point incident com-
Monday. Lawrence performed the autopsy on April 29, 2013, two days afterthe girlwa s found in a bedroom of her Valley Springs home. A 12-year-old, whose name is not being used because he is a juvenile, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He is now 15. At the request of his defense team, the defendant was taken to a holding area outside of the courtroom during Lawrence's testimony. B arney Fowler, the f ather, and his wife, Crystal, the stepmother, also left the courtroom. Crystal Fowler returned later in the testimony. Lawrence said Fowler's
The Union Democrat
manders on scene noticed
injuries were mainly to her
Guy McCarthy/Union Democrat
Crew Boss Luis Ayala (center, with radio and shovel) stands with members of his Type II contract firefighter crew from Miller Timber Services in Oregon, on Electra Road next to North Fork Mokelumne River in Amador County.
Residents ask questions; Calaveras info meeting is tonight PUBLIC MEETING: Cal Fire will hold another meeting tonight at 6 p.m. at Bret Harte High School at 323 S. Main St. Angels Camp.
More than 200 people including residents, volunteers, elected officials, fire officials and law enforcement who got together in Pine Grove Monday night heard how shifting winds helped change the Butte Fire's direction in its first night, sparing one county and unleashing hell in another.
The vast majority of the damage inflicted by the gigantic,fast-moving blaze occurred south of the North
spot fires on the south side of the river. Cal Fire, Butte Fire incident command stafF and other fire agency chiefs spoke more than 40 minutes about the initial stages of the blaze. Severalresidents stood and spoke at a microphone to More than 200 people attend an informational meeting thank firefighters for saving about the Butte Fire Monday night in Pine Grove. Amador County &om the fate that befell Calaveras Fork Mokelumne River in pressions of gratitude and County. Calaveras County and ev- empathy for their neighbors People wanted to know erybody in the meeting from came through in several Amador County knew it. Ex- comments from residents. See FIRE / Back Page
chest, but she also sufFered &om other injuries, including abrasions on her back. He described some wounds as prod See TRIAL / Back Page
Tu CARE
looks at forest
Emaciated young mountain lion rescued density • CLUB RECORD: Sonora Bass Anglers Phil Davis and Tom Shores won a 13-team tournament with 18.26 pounds.C1 • SWIMMERS:Nine TCA swimmers set best time at Hot Dog meet. C1
By GUY McCARTHY The Union Democrat
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Guy McCarthy / Union Democrat
A veterinarian's flashlight illuminates a young male mountain lion found emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from burns last week in the fast-moving Butte Fire near Mokelumne Hill.
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A young mountain lion found in the devastating Butte Fire near Mokelumne Hill nine days ago was emaciated, dehydrated and suffering&om burns when volunteers located him. On Monday morning, the roughly 4-month-old male lion was "feisty" and "fighting back" against his human handlers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, a veterinarian and a biologist said at a wildlife investigations lab in Rancho Cordova. The lion kitten was being kept in a dark cage with space to conceal itself, inside a fenced, locked area in
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the lab. He'd already eaten Monday morning,and his healthy appetite in recent days has been another positive sign. The unnamed mountain lion weighed about 9 pounds when the volunteers who found himturned him over Fish and Wildlife on Sept. 14, state veterinarian Ben
Gonzales said. "He was very emaciated
and dehydrated," Gonzales said. "It had corneal ulcers, the front part of the eye. That might have been &om smoke or heat. It looked like his whiskers were singed, and his foot pads have superficial burns that show he'd been walking in the
The Union Democrat
More prescribed burning and selective thinning projects are needed to
See FOREST/Back Page
Today:High 94, Low SS Wednesday:High as, Low 55 Thursday:High 93, Low 57
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r e turn
California forests to a healthy and sustainable condition, accordingto some ofthe area's leading experts. Fire suppression by humans has more than doubled treedensity in some parts of the Stanislaus National Forestsincethe1930s,saidRoger Bales, a hydrology professor at University of California, Merced, who is conducting studies on forest thinning in the Stanislaus-Tuolumne ExperimentalForest outside of Pinecrest.
See LION/Back Page
Weather
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By ALEX MacLEAN
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DR. ATUL RAMACHANDRAN is now accepting patients
Sonora Regional
Call 209-536-3240 to schedule an appointment.
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Medical Center ent i st Health
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