Results tagged “cause”

It appears that this afternoon's fast-moving fire in Diamond Bar was not caused intentionally, but by a pickup truck that had a small fire its bed. One story is that an burning debris was flying out of the bed of the truck, unbeknownst to the driver and passenger. Another is that a faulty cadyilac converter was sending sparks out from under the truck, according to KCAL-TV. Nevertheless, the truck and people inside have been detained by LA County Sheriff's Deputies.

The Guiberson Fire began around 10:30 a.m. this morning in Fillmore, north of Moorpark over the Santa Susana Mountains. Fueled by red flag weather and Santa Ana winds, the blaze quickly consumed at least 6,000 acres, prompting a number of evacuations and around 400 firefighters to respond, two of which that have suffered injuries. So far, it is zero percent contained.

The investigation into the cause of the Guiberson Fire, now 6,000 acres in size, already has a preliminary suspect: spontaneously combusted manure. Ventura County Sheriff's Department authorities did not say if the manure was animal or plant based, but one Moorpark Councilman told Fox 11 News he was not surprised. "We have a large agricultural presence in Ventura County," he said.

One day before the Station Fire began, the Morris Fire ignited in the Angeles National Forest above Azusa and Glendora, prompting the closure of Highway 39 and a handful of evacuations of camping areas. Today authorities said that a 13-year-old boy started the fire, but did not say how it was started, according to the LA Times. The case was presented to the district attorney's office, which will decide if there will be any charges. The Morris Fire, which began around 4:27 pm on Tuesday, August 25, burned 2,168 acres and is 100 percent contained.

Despite an on-air interview with KNX1070 earlier today stating the Station Fire was human-caused, officials with the Angeles National Forest said that was premature. "Confusion has arisen around the cause of the huge wildfire burning North of Downtown Los Angeles," the radio station wrote in an update. "The US Forest Service has retracted earlier statements made on KNX that the fire was 'human-caused'. Speaking on KNX, a spokesperson for the Service now says it's still too early to determine the cause."

Officials with the U.S. Forest Service are "convinced" the Station Fire was human-caused, but are not precisely sure how, reports KNX1070 on air. Basically, they know it was not caused by lightning--it could have been arson, a spark from equipment, a cigarette butt or any other possibility on a long list that investigators will narrow down. The fire began around mile marker 29 on the Angeles Crest Highway, where a car turnout is located. The blaze has burned through 140,150 acres, or 219 square miles, with 22 percent containment as of 10 a.m. Over 4,000 fire personnel have responded and 62 homes have been destroyed. A lot of progress has been made in handling the fire, but the southeastern flank above Altadena and Pasadena remains a concern for officials, who are considering more evacuations for the area. [Update: Official retract this, more here]

It's been nearly a week since the Jesusita Fire began in Santa Barbara and now officials are saying that, oddly enough, it may have been caused by someone clearing brush, something used to help prevent fire damage on homes. A total of 8,733 acres have burned, leaving 77 homes destroyed and 22 damaged, according to the County of Santa Barbara. Additionally, 60 outbuildings have been destroyed and 69 outbuildings were damaged. As of this morning, 70% of the fire has been contained, but expected winds on Tuesday could cause the fire to flare up.

You will be doing yourself a very large disservice if you don't get your ass over to Largo tonight to check out the Reno 911! Benefit Show, to raise money for Planting Peace, a charity that works to help children in impoverished nations. Every member of the show, including Tom Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio and Ian Roberts, will be sharing stage time with a roll call list of the greatest class clowns you'd kill to have in homeroom. Rob Heubel and Paul Scheer from MTV's Human Giant, Andy Daly (the principal on Eastbound and Down), Nick Kroll, Matt Besser and Matt Walsh (founders of Upright Citizens Brigade theatre) Nick Swardson, and even Rainn Wilson, to NAME JUST A FEW.

Santa Barbara County fire investigators have determined the fire's point of origin and that the cause of the fire was human related, although they do not know if it was intentional or not. "The investigation focus is now shifting toward individuals entering the property late Wednesday night and through the early morning hours of Thursday," the County said in a statement. That property they refer to is on East Mountain Drive between the Cold Springs Trailhead and the area known as “The Tea House," hence the fire's sobriquet. The blaze that began Thursday evening has burned 1,940 acres, destroyed 210 homes and is 95% contained.

The U.S. Forest Service has come out saying the apparent cause of the Marek Fire is "vehicle related," the LA Times reports. "Although preliminary findings indicated the blaze was caused by a vehicle, no further information was available, said Sherry Rollman, a spokeswoman for the Angeles National Forest." Earlier reports indicated the fire started near a shooting range, which it may have, but easily led to gun firing theories.

An electrical distribution line that fell onto dry brush in a drainage area of Oat Mountain is being blamed for the Sesnon Fire in a preliminary investigation by investigators from LA County Fire, Sheriff's and CalFire.

The fire at Universal Studios on Sunday that ripped through two "city blocks" was deemed an accident yesterday, but was not clarified until later. Now officials are saying a welders' blowtorch started the fire:

The gates of Universal Studios opened back up today after yesterday's fire, which burned a two-block area of film sets for more than 12 hours. The incident forced them to close the doors for the day at the theme park and CityWalk. Areas destroyed or damaged included New York Street, a part of Back to the Future's set and the King Kong attraction.