The Painted Cave Fire was a devastating

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

in June, 1990 that burned in the Santa Ynez Mountains and the city of Santa Barbara, within Santa Barbara County,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The fire, which began near Painted Cave, was intentionally set near at the intersection of Highway 154 (San Marcos Pass Road) and Painted Cave Road, burned , destroyed 427 buildings, and resulted in two deaths.

Timeline of events

The day had already been a long one for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department which had battled a 3-alarm fire in the county dump. While still mopping up from the dump fire, the call went out at 6:02pm for a brush fire on Highway 154 and Painted Cave Road. On this Wednesday evening temperatures topped off at degrees, an all-time record for that date, fueling some of the worst

sundowner winds A sundowner is a northerly offshore wind in California along the southern Pacific slope of Santa Ynez Mountains, in communities along the Gaviota Coast and Santa Barbara towards but not including Ventura County. Formation It occurs when a region ...

ever recorded. The first engine arrived on scene at 6:05pm and was met with winds gusting over with about actively burning. Less than 20 minutes later, the fire had traveled over and flames were reaching into the air. The fire proceeded into residential neighborhoods of Santa Barbara, fueled by

, eventually jumping

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

at 7:42PM. In less than two hours the fire had traveled nearly , destroying 430 structures and killing one person. It was the largest loss of structures since the

Bel Air Fire The Bel Air Fire was a disaster that began as a brush fire on November 6, 1961, in the Bel Air community of Los Angeles. The fire destroyed 484 homes and burned At least 200 Firemen were injured, with mostly eye injuries due to the smoke and fly ...

of 1961. The state fire marshal called it the "fastest-moving fire of its type ever in the United States." There were two fatalities in the fire. Andrea Lang Gurka, age 37, died while fleeing the flames along San Marcos Pass Road. An unnamed state prisoner working as a firefighter also died.

Investigation and settlement

Very quickly after the fire started, investigators determined that the blaze was the work of an

arsonist Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

and were able to trace it back to its origin. From there, however, the case ran cold and sat unsolved for over 5 years. The case was reopened in 1995 when Peggy Finley, a former girlfriend to Leonard Ross, told her minister that Ross had confessed to igniting the fire in an attempt to "burn out his neighbor" but the fire "got out of hand." After an investigation of Ross, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas W. Sneddon, Jr. decided not to file criminal charges saying that the case against Ross was too weak. However, Ross then sued the county for investigating him and the county saw an opening. A countersuit was filed accusing Ross of starting the fire and the jury ruled in the county's favor, 9-3.

References

{{California wildfires by year Wildfires in Santa Barbara County, California 1990 fires in the United States 1990 in California 1990s wildfires in the United States Santa Barbara, California Santa Ynez Mountains 1990 crimes in the United States 1990 natural disasters in the United States 20th century in California History of Santa Barbara, California June 1990 crimes California wildfires caused by arson

Timeline of events

Investigation and settlement

See also

References