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 combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

in June, 1990 that burned in the

Santa Ynez Mountains The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America. It is the westernmost range in the Transverse Ranges. The range is a large fault block of Cenozoic age create ...

and the city of Santa Barbara, within

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. 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 The Santa Barbara County Fire Department (SBCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County, California, and for multiple cities within the county. Together, these areas compose ...

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 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 sundowner winds, eventually jumping U.S. Route 101 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 of 1961. The state

fire marshal A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a state, provincial or territorial government, but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually in ...

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, wat ...

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,

District Attorney

Thomas W. Sneddon, Jr. Thomas William Sneddon Jr. (May 26, 1941 – November 1, 2014) was the district attorney of Santa Barbara County, California. He had more than two decades of experience as a District Attorney, and more than three decades of experience as a pro ...

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