Cause of Big Sur wildfire traced to power line
By Kurtis Alexander | San Francisco Chronicle
Updated 5:03 pm, Wednesday, December 3, 2014
The unusual December wildfire in Big Sur that destroyed 34 homes nearly a year ago was caused by a faulty overhead electrical line, investigators said Wednesday.According to the U.S. Forest Service, electrical wires owned by a small private water utility, Pfeiffer Ridge Mutual Water Co., likely overheated and prompted leaves and other forest debris to catch fire on a wooded ridge along Highway 1.
"Investigators found electrical wires that were not protected or encased by a rigid conduit," said the Forest Service report.
The Forest Service did not say whether the company would face penalties.
The Pfeiffer Fire broke out Dec. 16, usually too late in the year for damaging wildfires because of rain. It burned 917 acres along Pfeiffer Ridge Road near the Big Sur Lodge, a wooded area west of Highway 1 in the Los Padres National Forest. It's one of the most populated areas of an otherwise remote Big Sur coast.
Many had speculated erroneously that the blaze was ignited by an illegal campfire. Investigators said they found signs of illegal camping in the area, including backpacking cookware, but concluded this was not the cause.
More than 1,000 firefighters battled the inferno, which was contained Dec. 20.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Cause-identified-in-last-year-s-Big-Sur-wildfire-5932634.phpRead my blog at http://eclecticarcania.blogspot.com/
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