The cause of the Cedar Fire 20 years ago is a story of what can happen when someone does something unintentionally yet recklessly.
Investigators determined that the fire was started by a man named Sergio Martinez who lifted up in West Covina, who had been hunting in the area around Ramona when he got lost.
He first told fire investigators that he had fired a shot from his rifle to draw attention and that the shot had sparked flames and accidentally caused the fire.
He later changed his story and admitted he had gathered sticks and brush and started a small fire intentionally to try to signal rescuers.
And that was when Santa Ana winds kicked up, during warm and dry conditions. And he lost control of the fire.
Martinez was charged in federal court in 2004 with setting the fire and lying about it. In 2005, he was sentenced to six months in a work-furlough program, five years’ probation, 40 days of community service and ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution.
But what he recklessly and carelessly did that evening on October 25, 2003, raised a lot of awareness among everyone about how careful and cautious we all need to be at all times when living in a place where wildfires are part of the past and the future.
READ MORE and WATCH videos about the Cedar Fire.
(Photo Getty Images)
Photo: Getty Images