State fire investigators have determined that the River Fire, which destroyed more than 140 homes last year in the Northern California foothills, was not set maliciously or by way of criminal activity.
Cal Fire in September announced that the wildfire, which ignited the afternoon of Aug. 4, was human-caused and that it started in an overnight camping area at the Bear River Campground.
The state fire agency in a Monday update specified that the fire “started in the brush” along the edge of Bear River, within the site’s overnight camping area but not in a designated campsite.
“After a thorough investigation, including the examination of evidence and interviewing of witnesses, there is no evidence to support any malicious intent or criminal activity at this time,” Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit said in Monday’s news release.
The report did not specify an ignition source, but noted that “multiple people” attempted to extinguish the fire shortly after it started.
The River Fire ultimately consumed more than 2,600 acres and burned down 142 residential structures in Placer and Nevada counties as it spread in gusty winds. The wildfire led to brief, mandatory evacuations of about 4,000 homes in and near Colfax.
