A federal agency’s vehicle sparked the 2013 Chariot Fire in East County that destroyed 149 structures while blackening 7,055 acres, authorities announced Friday.
The Chariot Fire began just before 1 p.m. July 6, 2013, near Butterfield Ranch Resort and the Great Southern Overland Stage Route on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, according to Cal Fire.
It took 10 days for more than 2,100 firefighters to contain the blaze using ground and air attacks.
The blaze began when a BLM vehicle ignited dry vegetation underneath it, Cal Fire said.
In late April, attorney John Fiske said he filed a claim against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on behalf of fire victims, according to news reports at the time.
East County Magazine reported that the BLM vehicle involved was a jeep.
“It is critical that everyone be extra cautious outdoors with any activity that may cause a spark,” Cal Fire Southern Region Chief Dale Hutchinson said in a statement released Friday morning. “This year especially we need the public to remember that one less spark means one less wildfire.”
No major injuries occurred as a result of the Chariot Fire but a dozen firefighters were treated for minor injuries, mostly heat exhaustion, according to Cal Fire.
The majority of the structures lost were campground cabins in the Mount Laguna area.
— City News Service
