Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Arson blamed for N. Calif. wildfire

|
|
 
  
Published: July 17, 2008 at 4:34 PM

CHICO, Calif., July 17 (UPI) -- Investigators say they are convinced a wildfire that destroyed 80 homes in Northern California last month was the work of an arsonist.

Cal Fire and Butte County sheriff's deputies Thursday were looking for a white Ford van and a maroon Nissan pickup truck in connection with the start of the Humboldt Fire, which broke out June 11 in a rural area of Butte County east of Chico.

The Sacramento Bee said Cal Fire had ruled out all other causes for the 23,500-acre blaze and considered it to have been intentionally set. The fire cause about $34 million in damage in the community of Paradise.

Meantime, firefighters were taking advantage of favorable weather to contain around 43 active fires in the northern third of the state.

Cal Fire was watching for afternoon thunderstorm activity in the southern Sierra Nevada, and a fire weather watch was posted in parts of Idaho.

Recommended Stories
© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade The making of the Oscars
The Chicago Auto Show The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Tu Bishvat Migron settlement
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 25
Meryl Streep and Colin Firth attend the "BAFTA" ceremony in London
View Caption
fark
Planning a stunt marriage proposal today? Well, the wife of Slashdot's founder, who received one...
You're a K-9 cop out on a call and have to send your dog to take down a robber who is in the country...
Why will Whitney Houston's toxicology reports take weeks? Coroner's office: Because this ain't CSI...
Eight surefire ways to get dumped on Valentine's Day
Not many companies can claim that their net domain address clearly explains what it is that the...
"Any self-important, self-propagating elitist, I will happily bare my buttocks to"