400-acre fire at Auburn State Recreation Area ruled arson by Cal Fire investigators
Investigators have determined a fire that burned under the Foresthill Bridge near Auburn earlier this month to be an arson fire, Cal Fire said Tuesday.
The Bridge Fire started early the afternoon of Sept. 5 and prompted evacuations of the Auburn State Recreation Area, which remained closed the rest of Labor Day weekend. Evacuation warnings and orders were lifted the evening of Sept. 6, and the fire was fully contained by Sept. 14.
State fire officials said investigators “have determined this fire to be arson,” but did not release additional details on what led to that determination. No arrests have been announced.
“This is an active case, and Cal Fire law enforcement continues to work on determining the specific details leading to the cause of the fire,” Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit said in a news release.
Cal Fire asked anyone with information about the investigation to contact the agency’s arson hotline at 1-800-468-4408.
No structures were reported destroyed by the Bridge Fire. One firefighter assigned to the blaze was injured, according to a Sept. 6 Cal Fire incident report, but no further details about the nature or extent of that injury were released.
This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 12:12 PM with the headline "400-acre fire at Auburn State Recreation Area ruled arson by Cal Fire investigators."
