Mother, her 3 children and a man perish in early morning fire at Palm Springs mobile home

Fire kills 5, destroys Palm Springs mobile home

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — A 30-year-old mother, her three children and a 32-year-old man were killed in a fire that engulfed a mobile home on New Year’s Day.

The fire was reported at 5:15 a.m. at the Western Village Mobile Home Park in Palm Springs, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

Firefighters initially found the bodies of the two adults and later discovered the children — an 11-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy, and a 6-year-old girl.

A statement from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said the victims’ names will not be released until the bodies are positively identified. The Riverside County coroner’s office is expected to perform autopsies Monday.

Investigators were looking into the cause of the blaze, which did not damage any other homes. The fire was extinguished by 25 firefighters around 6:30 a.m.

Hours after the blaze was extinguished, onlookers stood at every corner and watched fire authorities interview neighbors.

“I’m still grieving from this,” said Jim Bernard, the mobile home park’s manager. “I was up this morning helping them put it out.”