LOS ANGELES — State fire investigators have determined what sparked a rare January brush fire in Big Sur, authorities announced Tuesday.
High winds blew embers from a pile burning operation onto nearby brush, igniting the fire, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Such burning operations are used to clear piles of trees and other vegetation that were cut down in an effort to thin combustible fuels.
The blaze, dubbed the Colorado fire, broke out around 5 p.m. Friday in Palo Colorado Canyon, Cal Fire said.
