Destructive Mountain Fire likely sparked by smoldering debris from previous fire, investigators say

SOMIS, Calif. (KABC) -- It's been a year since the Mountain Fire tore through Ventura County, burning nearly 20,000 acres and destroying over 100 homes. Investigators say they now know what caused it.

The blaze broke out on Nov. 6, 2024 amid heavy winds in Somis, the very same community where, just days before, firefighters had extinguished the Balcom Fire, which was sparked by a tractor working in the area.

But now, investigators believe hot debris from a burned tire remained underneath that tractor, and when the winds raged and the temperatures spiked, that hot debris dislodged, sparking the destructive Mountain Fire.

The fire raced into neighboring Camarillo, torching property after property. When the smoke cleared several days later, the fire had burned nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed more than 180 homes and structures.

"Our arson investigators have determined the most likely cause of the Mountain Fire was the extreme winds dislodging a pocket of covered hot tire debris from an earlier fire in the Balcom/Bixby area," said Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner.

The cause bears some similarities to the Palisades Fire, which was also ignited by an earlier fire. But in the Mountain Fire, crews knew a hot spot was there, but they described it as normal. Containment lines were in place, but the fierce winds likely blew the hot debris past them.

"They believe it's more likely than not that that hot rubber then entombed those tires was blown away when the winds started on the 6th of November, blew the rubber away, and found an ember after seven days of sitting there, with no smoke, with no reported fire, with no concern to anybody that had seen it in the previous seven days, believe it blew that rubber away, spotted over the 200 feet of containment we had in place, and started the Mountain Fire," said Gardner.

Fire investigators, along with the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, say that no one is at fault. They say this was just a horrible blaze that hurt a lot of people.