Officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said a diesel vehicle is to blame for starting the Apple Fire, which has been burning through Riverside County east of Los Angeles since July 31.

Witnesses told Cal Fire that they saw particles shooting from a vehicle’s exhaust pipe in Cherry Valley. The vehicle and its driver have not been identified by investigators, but a Cal Fire spokesman told NBC News that “particles” were found around near the origin of the blaze.

“They’re almost like a small marble, sometimes larger, and when they land on dry vegetation, they’re extremely hot,” Cal Fire Spokesman Fernando Herrera told NBC News. The debris is expelled due to a vehicle malfunction and “can ignite any type of fuel.”

Cal Fire is asking anyone with information on a vehicle with mechanical problems seen spitting unusual smoke, sparks, or debris to contact the agency.

Apple Fire Overview

The fire began as “several spot fires” in an area of Cherry Valley that sits about 85 miles east of Los Angeles in Riverside County.

Within a week, the flames had consumed more than 29,000 acres, at least four homes, and spread into the San Bernardino National Forest, according to Cal Fire. As of Aug. 10, firefighters working around the clock had managed to contain more than 33,000 acres or about 50 percent of the blaze. The crews are fighting the flames on the ground and dropping water and fire retardant from the air using 18 helicopters.

USA Today said weather conditions – dry air, gentle winds, and temperatures exceeding 100 degrees – played a key role in the spread of the fire. So did the terrain, which Cal Fire described as steep and rugged and largely inaccessible to firefighting vehicles.

Cal Fire reported one injury as a result of the fire, which reportedly was sustained by “a firefighter who suffered a flash burn when opening the fuel cap on his chainsaw.”

Evacuation Warnings

Cal Fire issued evacuation warnings for Whitewater and Morongo Valley, Pioneertown, Rimrock, and Forest Falls. Residents in those areas were warned to be prepared to leave their homes should the fires come too close, necessitating evacuation.

Within days of igniting, the fire had damaged at least a dozen structures and destroyed at least four homes.

“It’s a miracle no one else lost a home, because the fire burned 5-feet from the doors,” Lt. Al Campa of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department told USA Today.

Riverside County’s Press-Enterprise newspaper said fire officials there said they hoped to have the Apple Fire fully contained by Aug. 17 or thereabouts. 

“Containment is when firefighters create and hold a fire break around the perimeter of a wildfire,” the newspaper explained. “The break can be created by natural means, such as a stream or a river or roads and freeways, or by firefighters digging lines around the fire with bulldozers and hand tools.”

National Public Radio (NPR) reported that at least one evacuation center has been established for those affected by the Apple Fire “where COVID-19 protocols will be enforced.”

In addition to the Apple Fire, California firefighters were dealing with as many as 16 other wildfires in the Golden State at the same time an average of 8,594 new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed per day.

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