Power Lines, Winds Caused Northern California Fires

SANTA ROSA, CA -- Two fires that sparked last October in Santa Rosa were caused by high winds and power lines. The Press Democrat reported city investigators determined the cause of the Oct. 8 fires.

The fires are separate from the four major wildfires that scorched through Northern California during the same month, killing more than 40 people and destroying thousands of homes.

The Press Democrat said the two fires reported in the recently released investigation were much smaller in scale.

"In both cases — a fire that destroyed two homes on Sullivan Way near Howarth Park and another quarter-acre fire that damaged an outbuilding at a Montessori school on Brush Creek Road — investigators with the Santa Rosa Fire Department ruled that strong winds caused the PG&E’s power lines to arc, throw sparks and set fire to dry vegetation," the Press Democrat wrote.

Pacific Gas and Electric did not comment on the investigation but the city said the fires were caused by "acts of nature" with the power lines, the newspaper wrote.

"In one of the fires, arcing power lines continued to spark new flames as firefighters worked to put out existing ones, prompting a response from PG&E crews," the Press Democrat wrote.

California saw its worst fire season on record last year when, not only four major wildfires burned through northern California, but six more scorched through southern California. The largest wildfire on record was in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties where more than 280,000 acres burned.

--Photo: A law enforcement officer blocks a road as flames burn in a residential area in Santa Rosa, California, Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. Credit: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

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