Crime & Safety
Liberty Fire Update: Cause Determined In Damaging Murrieta Blaze
Months later, Cal Fire officials say they've determined what sparked the Liberty Fire, which prompted school closures and evacuations.
MURRIETA, CA — Ten months after a wildfire burned through the Murrieta area — destroying a home and prompting evacuations in the process — Cal Fire investigators say they've determined the cause. The so-called Liberty Fire was sparked by electrical equipment on Dec. 7, 2017.
According to an update provided Tuesday by Cal Fire, officers with the agency "... determined Southern California Edison electrical equipment failed, causing an electrical arc."
In total, 300 acres burned in the blaze, along with one structure and one outbuilding, officials said. At the height of the incident, more than 300 fire personnel from the Riverside County Fire Department, the Murrieta Fire Protection District and other regional public safety agencies were at the scene.
The fire also prompted both the Murrieta and Temecula school districts to cancel classes for a day.
The complete Cal Fire report was not published, only a summary, and SCE released a statement saying that without the full narrative, a concrete finding regarding the ignition source could not be established.
However, the investor-owned utility acknowledged that "ignition appears to have occurred when an electrical event occurred at a pole."
"The area on the pole under review appeared to contain bird nesting material not visible from the ground," the company statement says. "The cause of the electrical event, including whether and to what extent the bird nesting material may have been a factor, remains under review."
SCE emphasized that the safety of "customers, communities and employees" remains a "top priority and a core value."
"We have long taken substantial steps to reduce the risk of wildfires in our service territory and continue to look for ways to enhance our operational practices and infrastructure," according to the statement. "SCE employs design and construction standards, vegetation management practices and other operational practices to mitigate wildfire risk, and has collaborative partnerships with fire agencies to maintain fire safety."
The company welcomed recent legislation that calls for increased state oversight of infrastructure, including the grid, and vowed to continue to implement "industry-leading safety practices."
The non-injury Liberty Fire was first reported just after 1 p.m. on Dec. 7 adjacent to a dirt road paralleling Los Alamos Road, on the eastern edge of the Murrieta city limits, bordering the unincorporated community of French Valley. Santa Ana winds gusting over 30 mph propelled the flames eastward into a residential area, turning the spot fire into a fast-moving brusher.
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— Main image by Mark Ritter
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