The massive Sesnon fire was sparked when heavy winds downed an electrical distribution line, causing sparking onto dry brush in a drainage ditch, fire officials said Wednesday.
Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said they had tracked the start of the blaze to a remote unincorporated area west of Limekiln Canyon Road.
Calm winds Wednesday kept that and another fire in the San Fernando Valley from making a run toward the sea; the fires claimed two lives, destroyed 49 structures and burned more than 18,000 acres. "This is our top priority right now to put out these fires, even though we have our financial problems in the state," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday in a news conference at the command center in Thousand Oaks. "We are not sparing one single dollar or dime."
The governor has also declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County. Los Angeles and Ventura counties were given that designation earlier this week.
The cost to date of fighting the Sesnon fire is $2.5 million. It started Monday in Porter Ranch and grew to 13,825 acres. Light winds were allowing firefighters to make headway in containment on the fire's eastern flank.
Of the 20 largest wildfires in California history, power lines were suspected in or blamed for four, accounting for about 21% of the charred acreage, according to statistics from the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Los Angeles County fire officials said Wednesday that the downed power distribution line believed responsible for the Sesnon blaze was privately owned, but they did not identify the owner.
A government source familiar with local power distribution systems said it was unusual to have private ownership of power lines and poles.
Although Southern California Edison serves the area affected by the fire, spokesman Steve Conroy said Wednesday that the company does not own the power line involved in the fire and that he could not confirm whether Edison provided service to the private line.
"Edison facilities were not involved with this fire," Conroy said. "We don't maintain or service that particular private distribution circuit."
State regulators require utilities to clear brush and meet pole strength standards to help prevent the downing of power lines. Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said one aspect of the investigation would examine whether the private owners properly cleared the brush and whether state regulations applied to the private owner.
