Anaheim Fire Releases Causes Of Canyon Fire & Canyon Fire 2

ANAHEIM, CA — On Monday, Anaheim Fire and Rescue Chief Randy Bruegman and Capt. Daron Wyatt called a press conference, as lead agency on the both Canyon Fires 1 and 2, to share their findings as to what sparked each.

The first Canyon Fire, which began in late September ate up roughly 2,600 acres from OC into Corona, was accidental,sparked by a roadside flare. The Canyon Fire 2 was ruled to have started from a smoldering oak tree and embers which carried into non-burned vegetation by record Santa Ana winds.

Investigators say that the first Canyon Fire began when a roadside shrub that ignited south of the 91 freeway east of the Coal Canyon exit. Based upon witness reports, it is likely that a passing vehicle struck the flare and sent it into the shrubbery where the Canyon Fire began.

Read: Firefighters Reflect On A Week Of Wildfire: Canyon Fire, Anaheim

The more controversial beginnings of the Canyon Fire 2 has been examined in detail by Anaheim Fire and Rescue, and has been ruled to have started when embers from a smoldering oaknear the Coal Canyon truck clearout were carried beyond the burn area by Santa Ana wind gusts, on the morning of October 9. That fire went on to burn over 9,000 acres inside Orange County, destroying multiple structures.

Speculation has swirled on the cause of the Canyon Fire 2, whether it began from a spot fire reported the night before near Sierra Peak, or whether flames reported an hour before the incident were the cause.

Bruegman stated that Anaheim Fire has ruled that the fire seen on Sierra Peak was definitively not the cause of the Canyon Fire 2, agreeing with Orange County Fire Authority. OCFA also researched that suggestion that an ember from Sierra Peak would have had to travel several miles against the wind to reach the origin of the Canyon Fire 2, making it impossible for the fire to have started there. Anaheim Fire investigators agreed with that line of thinking.

The cause of the Canyon Fire 2 has been ruled to have started with embers that flew from a smoldering oak tree during record Santa Ana winds on the morning of October 9. The oak may have smoldered beneath the surface, at the root level, Anaheim Fire investigators said. Those embers would have been impossible to see with all the blowing ash and dust that day.

"As we mop up these fires after a vegetation fire, sometimes those embers are visible on the surface and sometimes they are not," Anaheim Fire Capt. Daron Wyatt said. "As soon as the wind reached approximately 65 to 70 miles per hour that day, that is when the Canyon Fire 2 was sparked."

Between 8 and 9 a.m. on October 9, the wind shifted direction and began to blow in Santa Ana conditions.

"When that wind came up that morning, that was some of the strongest wind we've experienced in that area in many many years," Bruegman said. "I think that based upon what we knew and were seeing, firefighters made the right decisions."

Would it have prevented the fire if resources would have been launched sooner? Capt. Daron Wyatt doesn't think so, according to his statements. Embers were fanned by winds and carried over the Coal Canyon Truck Trail into the non-burned area, Wyatt said.

"Once the embers got into the fresh vegetation, there was nothing that could have stopped it," Wyatt said.

There has been a controversy surrounding the original response to the fire. A report went to CHP at just after 8:30 a.m. that morning when no flame was seen by responding officers. By 9:30 a.m. the Canyon Fire 2 was raging through the Anaheim Hills.

"That 8:30 a.m. caller was confident he saw some flame," Wyatt said. "We interviewed that individual, and he was looking at an area about 100 to 150 feet from where the fire started. We can't definitively say if the fire began from that original call, or if the fire was sparked from another bit of brush."

The caller who reported the fire at 8:30 a.m. did not remain on scene, but continued down the road, according to Wyatt.

Caltrans issued this statement saying the agency regrets that one of its flares may have set the original fire, and recognizing "the impact this fire had on the community."

"The safety of the traveling public and our employees is our top priority. Caltrans worked closely with the Anaheim Fire Department during the investigation and we have already begun reviewing our existing policies and procedures to look for ways we can make improvements," said Ryan Chamberlain, director of Caltrans District 12, which includes Orange County.

Bruegman acknowledged that questions over the response to Canyon Fire 2 have pointed out issues in the way computer networks interact between the OCFA and Anaheim. He said those issues could have slowed the response on Oct. 9, but not enough to make a difference.

While officials are working on fixing the computer glitches, Anaheim changed its policy to simply respond right away to reports of fires instead of waiting for permission from the OCFA, Wyatt said.

Read also: Prisoner Who Fled From Canyon Fire 2 Found

OCFA photo