NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — The Ranch Fire that in summer 2018 scorched over 400,000 acres across four Northern California counties — killing one firefighter and injuring three others — was caused by a spark from a hammer, officials with Cal Fire said Friday. Considered the largest wildland fire acreage-wise in state history, the Ranch Fire was sparked early the afternoon of July 27, 2018 north of the Mendocino County community of Upper Lake.
“The tinder dry vegetation and red flag conditions consisting of strong winds, low humidity and hot temperatures caused extreme rates of spread which caused the fire to grow very rapidly,” Cal Fire Deputy Director Michael Mohler said of the Ranch Fire, which spread from Mendocino County to Colusa, Lake and Glenn counties and burned 410,203 acres and destroyed a total of 280 homes and other structures.
First reported at noon on Friday, July 27, 2018, the Ranch Fire was one of two that made up the 459,123-acre Mendocino Complex Fire, the other being the River Fire.
“After a meticulous and thorough investigation, Cal Fire has determined that the Ranch Fire was caused by a spark or hot metal fragment landing in a receptive fuel bed,” Mohler said. “The spark or hot metal fragment came from a hammer driving a metal stake into the ground.”
Cal Fire investigators were immediately dispatched to the Ranch Fire and began their work of trying to determine the fire’s origin and cause, Mohler said.
“The Ranch Fire was witnessed at 2 feet by 2 feet in size in annual grass, 2 feet to 3 feet in height,” investigators wrote in the report. “The Ranch Fire became part of the Mendocino Complex when the River Fire started 1 hour later.”
The first Cal Fire investigator to arrive at the Ranch Fire place of origin noted that at about 12:30 p.m., the blaze was about 20 acres in size, according to the 20-page investigation report released Friday.
The point of origin was 5400 state Highway 20 in Potter Valley, where the property owner and responsible party sparked the fire while hammering a 24-inch concrete stake into the ground, according to Cal Fire investigators.
As of Friday, no charges had been filed in the Ranch Fire, with the responsible party’s name redacted from the report.
The following was included in the report and is a Cal Fire investigator’s summary of the property owner’s statements on Day One of the Ranch Fire, July 27, 2018:
“[Redacted] was putting up a shade cloth for the above ground water tanks located up the hill from his residence. He said the shade cloth blew down sometime last year and he wanted to put it back up as a barrier from the sun. He said he was in the process of putting it up when he agitated an underground yellow jacket’s nest. [Redacted] said he is allergic to bees and waited for the yellow jackets to stop swarming. Once they did, [redacted] quickly hammered a 24-25 inch concrete stake into the ground to plug the hole. He said he used a claw hammer and drove the concrete stake 10 to 12 inches into the ground.
“[Redacted] said he smelled smoke and saw a vegetation fire next to where he was working. [Redacted] said the fire was 2 feet by 2 feet in size when he first saw it. He said the fire started in grass he estimated to be 2 to 3 feet in height. He said the vegetation fire moved quickly to the shade cloth located on the ground a few feet away . [Redacted] grabbed a shovel and tried to extinguish the fire, but said the ground was so hard it was difficult to get enough dirt to be effective.
“[Redacted] said he tried to use a black polyurethane waterline next to the water tanks to extinguish the fire, but the line kinked from the heat of the fire and restricted the waterflow. [Redacted] then tried to use a 1½ -inch PVC water line connected to the water tanks, but was unable to get enough water pressure to reach the fire. [Redacted] said he unhooked the trailer from his four-wheeler and tried to get in front of the fire traveling uphill from the water tanks. He said in the process, he lost control of his four-wheeler and had to jump off. The four-wheeler rolled downhill lodging itself between the water tanks and a cut bank.
“[Redacted] said he ran downhill to his residence and called 911 to report the fire. He then turned on the water pump near his residence to supply the water tanks to help support the incoming fire suppression resources. At the time of the interview, [redacted] was suffering from what appeared to be smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion. He refused an ambulance and medical treatment.”
Click here to view the Ranch Fire Investigation Report in its entirety.
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