Fire that burned almost 250 homes in Ventura County was restart of earlier blaze, officials say

"A fire that burned nearly 250 homes in Ventura County was a rekindling of an earlier fire that officials failed to fully extinguish, according to an investigation by Ventura County fire officials and prosecutors released Friday. The findings, announced at a press conference, put more focus on the tactics firefighters use in declaring blazes out, especially after authorities concluded that the destructive Palisades fire was a restart of a Jan. 1 fire that the Los Angeles Fire Department wrongly declared fully out."

"In the case of the Ventura County fire that eventually grew into the Mountain fire, officials said they knew there were hot spots remaining, but did not think they'd cause any problems. At a press conference Friday, authorities said the fire came back to life thanks to a burned tractor tire. About a week before the Mountain fire started on Nov. 6, a tractor caught fire in Somis while clearing brush, officials said."

An investigation concluded the Mountain fire was a rekindling of an earlier blaze that had not been fully extinguished. The failure to fully put out a prior Jan. 1 fire drew scrutiny and a federal investigation after authorities determined the Palisades fire restarted from that incident. In the Ventura County case, crews contained an initial tractor fire to 1.8 acres and detected heat near the fire's edge and a tractor wheel via drone. Temperatures around the equipment registered about 300 degrees, and responders assessed containment and returned control to the property owner before the fire reignited.

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