Destructive Orange County fire caused by ember from earlier wildfire

LOS ANGELES — A wildfire that burned dozens of homes in Orange County last month was sparked by an ember from a fire that erupted days earlier in the area, authorities said Monday.

The revelations come amid questions over how firefighters battled the Canyon 2 fire. Some critics have said fire officials did not respond to the blaze aggressively enough. The Orange County Board of Supervisors recently launched an investigation.

The Canyon 2 fire, which burned 9,200 acres and burned or damaged 80 homes along the edge of Orange County and the Inland Empire, started Oct. 9 when an ember from another blaze, the Canyon 1 fire, took flight and landed in unburnt grass along the 91 Freeway, said Anaheim Fire & Rescue Chief Randy Bruegman.

The Canyon 1 fire burned 2,000 acres in and around Corona and damaged four homes at the end of September. It was caused by a Caltrans road flare that was kicked into the grass off the 91 Freeway by another vehicle, officials said.

An ember from that fire lay dormant among scorched oak about 20 feet within the Canyon 1 fire’s containment area until Oct. 9, when a powerful gust of wind launched it more than 50 feet into dry brush outside the containment line.

“Things happen in the fire service; it’s not a 100 percent science,” Bruegman said. “The fact of the matter is the people on the ground thought they had everything out.”