Officials: Cave Fire was set intentionally
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The cause of the Cave Fire was determined a year after the fire started.
The cause of the fire was arson, according to Los Padres National Forest. The Public Information Officer Andrew Madsen says they do not know which exact item/tool caused the fire.
The newsroom has reached out to Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office to find out if they have any suspects that may have been involved in starting the fire.
On the afternoon of November 25, the fire broke out in the mountains above Santa Barbara.
The fire was driven by strong winds late in the evening and the fire exploded to over 3,000 acres within hours.
The "Cave Fire" was first reported along Highway 154 and East Camino Cielo at around 4:15 p.m.
The next day at around 11:15 a.m., the Cave Fire in the mountains had burned 4,262 acres with 0 percent containment.
Fire officials reported that no structures were destroyed overnight but hundreds of structures, including homes and businesses, are considered threatened.
Evacuations were ordered.
According to Santa Barbara County Fire, 4,000 people were affected by evacuations and 5,484 people evacuated at that time.
No injuries were reported.
Highway 154 was closed due to the fire.
