LOS ANGELES – As the smoke continues on the burnt hills of the Pacific Palesids and the rain storms are approaching, investigators are running to expose the origin of the devastating fire on January 7, killing 11 people. And more than 6,800 structures were destroyed.
To cover letters up to 10 miles every day, He collected more than 235 leads in search of answers, which focused on a suspected fire in the same area a few days ago.
The investigation has zero a splashed regime above a special neighborhood known as the Highlands, which is in the mountains watching the Community Ocean. The area is close to a small fireplace that the Los Angeles fire department said was controlled just six days before the fire on January 1, before the fire broke out on January 7.
Earlier this week, the yellow precautionary tape stopped access to the trail head. Highlands to a famous hiking area at Topinga State Park. Many houses around the trail used to fire from the fire. But at a distance, at a time, the residual remains of the great houses and the black trees were present on the landscape.
About 75 personnel from local, state and federal agencies have begun roaming around the state park, known for the amazing seasons and famous signs of the sea, such as a school rock bolder and a small Buddha statue.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, firearms and explosives, the Los Angeles office is of particular interest in the investigation due to the two fires.
The Los Angeles Fire Department sent all questions related to the January 1 and January 7 fire to the ATF.
After the cluster
On January 1, no house was damaged or destroyed. The fire broke out, but investigators with the ATF are looking for possible contacts with the January 7 fire. They are also examining other human causes such as fireworks, fireworks and camping activity.
More than 84 % of the fire has been controlled by Sunday. It has so far burned more than 23,440 acres and continues to flare after about three weeks.
“We’re not leaving any stones outside the Agency’s Temporary Command Center on the Pacific Coast Highway, ATF spokesman, Ginger Colbran, said. While Kolburn refused to confirm the direct relationship between the fire, he emphasized that the investigators were analyzing all the data and added that “there is no reason to go back” and See both incidents.
Residents of the mountainous areas reported hearing the sound of fireworks on New Year’s Eve, before a small fire broke out in the neighboring forests. Firefighters responded to a call from a resident of about two blocks from the Skill Rock Trail Head shortly after midnight on January 1. NBC Los Angeles And residents who saw and heard the fire staff hours later.
The fire was largely forgotten by January 7, when smoke was seen again in the mountains and mountains around the mountains. Firefighters responded to a different resident’s call that lives on a three -minute drive. From the address of the caller who reported the fire on January 1. Both are houses that face the Temescal ridge trail, which is one of the many local hiking trails leading to the Skull Rock.
Now, investigators from local, state and federal agencies are collecting a complex puzzle. They have reviewed video footage for more than 85 hours. Kolburn said that hiking and working through social media posts of park visitors.
Anatomy of fire investigation.
Amy Masi, a fire investigator with the US Forest Service, who is not involved in the case, described the working process that forensic experts do.
“To detect the cause of the forest fire and the origin, a method is used,” he said.
The Forest Service, which trains ATF to train forest fire analysis, is three investigators working with the bureau on a policy -fire fire probe.
Like police detectives, fire investigators observed the scene and restricted their search area to 25 square feet ideally, according to Ed Nordskog, a retired Sheriff’s fire investigator from Los Angeles County, Joe Not involved in this case.
Then they divide the area into a zone grid, each of which is about 4 square feet. He said investigators collect evidence that could include footprints, campfire remnants, lighting strike ash or burnt electrical appliances.
With the help of magnets, metal detectors and meganfaying lenses, investigators also find small pieces of evidence, such as pieces of molten machinery parts, match heads, glasses and fireworks.
Particularly trained dogs smell signs of high speed, and investigators carefully follow nearby electrical appliances, such as fences or poles, or gas -powered vehicles, which hotter than electric vehicles and more hot than Fire is more likely to be burned. The evidence is then sent to a research laboratory for processing to determine how long it has been there.
“This is just a science. It is a science, but it contains an element of art,” said Scott Sweato, a former ATF fire investigator. “People think that fire destroys everything. This doesn’t happen.”
Samples on the cliffs, brushes and debris are tracked for investigators, who can determine how the fire moved and returned it to its original location.
This process may be difficult, Matt Brewsard said, a former Forest Service investigator who is now a business representative with the National Federation of Federal Employees.
Brossard, which is not involved in the investigation but helps train ATF agents in forest fire analysis, said inspecting an area like Topanga State Park, especially due to its tipography and popularity. Is
He said that if there is any physical evidence left, it depends on the climatic conditions and content that was first incited. “If it’s in grass, we have a very easy time to find things in grass and heavy brushes. But where heat is high, more hot, your evidence is damaged because it is a long and more Burning for a severe period.
Abnormally dry conditions that cause a fire on January 7, and six days between the first and second fires can provide important traces for investigators. Angers can stay deep inside the roots of the tree and covers heavy ash. In this scenario, the coals can continue to burn underground and fall during the thunderstorm, Bruceard said.
The use of forest service infrared technology and other techniques monitors for days or weeks after controlling the fire under the brush, he said.
But Sweato said, relatively light plants of the Pacific Palesids scenes and a six -day interval before the fire broke out on January 7, Sweato said.
“This is a question that many people have,” he said. “Our investigators will definitely have it.”
