Fire Authority Releases Photo of Vegetable Garden Sheeting that Started Silverado Fire

The Orange County Fire Authority released a photo of the metal sheeting that sparked the Silverado Canyon fire, which charred nearly 1,000 acres Sept. 12.

The two-foot high metal sheeting was wrapped around a wood border, and the reflected rays ignited the wood and grass in a backyard in the 30500 block of Silverado Canyon Road, according to Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi.

“The wood eventually became dry enough that with the intense sun reflecting off the metal sheeting onto the wood, the wood and surrounding grass caught fire and then escaped the vegetable garden and spread to the surrounding vegetation and raced up the hill,” said Concialdi.

Residents in the area had smelled “burning wood” throughout the week before the fire, but did not see any smoke, he said.

Concialdi recommends mesh as a safer material to keep rodents out of a vegetable garden.

PHOTO Courtesy the Orange County Fire Authority.