‘It’s tedious. It’s dirty. It’s not fun:’ Searching for answers in the wildfire wreckage

Elbahrain.net A week after wind-whipped wildfires began their deadly rampage through Southern California, details on acreage burned, structures destroyed and people killed are routinely updated on a state website devoted to tracking the devastation.

But one category regarding each fire remains unchanged: The cause.

Amid speculation, rumors and media reports regarding how the fires may have begun, the official determination for each blaze is “under investigation.”

Fire experts and arson investigators interviewed by CNN said it could take weeks, months or even longer before they know precisely how the fires ignited.

“This is going to be a monumental task,” said Mike Vergon, a retired Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives fire investigator who worked on the agency’s National Response Team, which specializes in complex investigations of large fires and explosions.

Figuring out what caused a fire, experts say, is a painstaking, time-intensive process.

“It’s tedious. It’s dirty. It’s not fun,” said Ed Nordskog, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s arson investigator and profiler.

About 95% of fires in California are caused by humans, whether through an intentional act of arson, a downed power line, or a backyard barbeque party or fireworks celebration gone awry, Cal Fire officials say. Determining the details of how a particular fire started can have major implications. Investigators’ findings can result in fines, legal settlements and even prison time, depending on circumstances. In 2019, for example, Pacific Gas & Electric agreed to an $11 billion settlement with insurance companies for claims stemming from 2017 wildfires in Northern California and the 2018 Camp Fire.

Investigations can also provide invaluable lessons, said Tommy Sing Sr., a veteran fire investigator and president of Quest Fire Analysis.

“To have an understanding of how the fire occurred can give you guidance on how to mitigate the risk of it occurring again,” Sing said.

Current members of the ATF National Response Team began conducting an initial assessment in Los Angeles on Monday and will be taking the lead role in investigating the Palisades Fire, which has killed at least eight people and burned more than 5,000 structures. It ranks as the second-most destructive fire in Southern California history – behind only the nearby Eaton Fire. Containment efforts on both wildfires continue.

Tim Jones, an ATF deputy assistant director, said 15 members of the response team were assigned to the Palisades Fire following a request from local officials to determine the “cause and origin.

‘No leading theory’
The Palisades Fire began the morning of January 7. Six days earlier, there had been another fire in the same vicinity, according to satellite images and dispatch recordings analyzed by CNN. That fire had been reported contained within hours by local firefighters after growing to about eight acres, according to alerts from the LA fire department, which noted a team would work to ensure no flareups occurred.

The proximity of the two fires has prompted questions as to whether winds could have rekindled smoldering debris left from New Year’s Eve fireworks to trigger the Palisades Fire, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Washington Post.

“In terms of possibility, certainly that could have happened,” Luca Carmignani, a professor at San Diego State University who has studied wildfires, told CNN. Carmignani cautioned, however, against drawing any conclusions absent a thorough investigation.

At a news conference Sunday, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said “we do not have any information that there’s any connections” between the two fires. She added that she was confident that “every single detail” would be examined.

A law enforcement source told CNN Monday there was “no leading theory at this time” into the cause of the Palisades Fire.

Across town in Altadena, residents reported seeing flames beneath an electrical transmission tower shortly before the Eaton Fire broke out January 7.

“It was burning bright, and it was the base of the tower on fire,” Altadena resident Jeffrey Ku told CNN’s Erin Burnett Monday.