The Day Fire was a devastating

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

that burned of land in the

Topatopa Mountains The Topatopa Mountains are a mountain range in Ventura County, California, north of Ojai, Santa Paula, and Fillmore. They are part of the Transverse Ranges of Southern California. Etymology A name for the mountains was first inscribed within t ...

, within the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises ...

, southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

History

The fire was the largest of the 2006 California wildfire season. The fire started on

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

September 4, 2006, and by October 1, had cost $70.3 million; at one point, the Day Fire had 4,600 active firefighters combating it. The Day Fire burned approximately of both Los Padres National Forest (97.4%) and privately owned lands. The fire started on the Ojai Ranger District, in the congressionally designated

Sespe Wilderness The Sespe Wilderness is a wilderness area in the eastern Topatopa Mountains and southern Sierra Pelona Mountains, within the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF), in Ventura County, Southern California. The wilderness area is primarily located wi ...

. The Sespe Wilderness is under the federal jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service. In addition to the land burned in the wilderness area, of private land was burned in Lockwood Valley and the Mutau Flat area. A total of eleven structures were reported destroyed, including one residence and ten outbuildings.

Cause

The Day Fire was determined to be human caused. Specifically, a debris burn consisting of clothing, ammunition, and other items were illegally ignited during fire restrictions. Ignited material coming out of the debris burn came in contact with surrounding dry grasses, causing a wildland fire to occur. On September 7, 2006, Steven Butcher walked out of the Day Fire with burns to his face. Mr. Butcher was the one who notified the authorities there was a fire burning in the Los Padres National Forest. In 2009, Butcher was found guilty of starting the fire. "I hid up there for days afterward watching the animals running scared around me." Before sentencing, District Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank said that Butcher "clearly loved nature."

References

{{California wildfires by year Wildfires in Ventura County, California 2006 California wildfires Los Padres National Forest Topatopa Mountains

History

Cause

See also

References