CalFire and Santa Barbara County fire investigators determined the 2018 Holiday Fire was caused by Southern California Edison equipment, according to a report released Friday.
The 113-acre blaze broke out July 6 along North Fairview Avenue near Goleta.
It spread quickly amid triple-digit temperatures and gusty winds, and the fire damaged three single-family residences and destroyed 24 structures, including 10 single-family homes, County Fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli said. The fire also damaged the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network.
Investigators determined “the most probable ignition scenario identified during the investigation was high north winds causing either a tree branch, palm frond, or other vegetative debris to land across both the west and center distribution electrical conductors,” Bertucelli said in a statement.
The branch, or other debris, either ignited or produced fire brands that fell onto and ignited the “receptive fuel bed” below, the investigative report concluded.
County fire and CAL FIRE investigators examined fire pattern indicators and identified an area of origin located directly below electrical conductors, between two Edison power poles, Bertucelli said.
“The specific origin area was surrounded by tall trees and vegetation with several specimens that exceeded the height of distribution electrical conductors,” he said.
When the fire was reported shortly before 8:40 p.m., temperatures hit approximately 100 degrees and relative humidity in the area was around 12 percent, with a north wind of approximately 10 to 20 mph, with gusts exceeding 30 mph, according to Bertucelli.
“Multiple witnesses described the Holiday Fire to investigators as approaching their location from the north end of North Fairview Avenue,” Bertucelli said.
Santa Barbara County declared a local emergency for the destructive Holiday Fire and former Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for the area after dozens of structures were destroyed.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
