The massive Soberanes Fire was caused by someone who lit an illegal campfire, Cal Fire unit chief Brennan Blue said Tuesday. The wildfire sparked in Garrapata State Park on July 22 before it burned more than 44,300 acres, destroyed 57 homes, and led to the death of a bulldozer operator on Green Ridge. It's California's largest and most destructive wildfire of 2016.
The illegal, 2-foot by 2-foot campfire was left unattended just off the Soberanes Canyon Trail, Cal Fire said at a Tuesday press conference.
Whoever lit the campfire came to a fork in the trail and followed the path that leads into a thick redwood forest -- not up the steep ridge trail that goes up the mountain -- about 2 1/4 miles east from Highway 1, Blue said. The person built the campfire at a scenic spot where Soberanes Creek intersects with another creek and forms a waterfall.