Authorities investigating the source of the fires raging through Los Angeles claimed that they believe the Palisades Fire, the biggest and the most deadly one among the five wildfires, was started by someone by accident. The trail where the fire apparently originated is popular with hikers and is often used as a hangout spot by local teens, Los Angeles Times reported.
According to the report, the Skull Rock north of Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades us believed to be the starting point of the fire which is still raging almost a week after it started.
New Year’s Eve fireworks or trekkers on Skull Rock?
A recent theory claimed that many residents believed that the Palisades Fire started from a New Year’s Eve fire which was extinguished earlier but somehow it got fanned again — as satellite imagery revealed that the source of the Palisades Fire and the earlier New Year’s Eve fireworks somehow overlapped. Officials investigating the cause of the Palisades Fire said they are aware of the earlier fire and its proximity to the Palisades Fire. They are, however, not ruling out the possibility that trekkers who frequent the Skull Rock ignited the fire accidentally.
The New Year’s fire was reported just after midnight and was contained in four hours after it burned eight acres. Some crew members kept an eye on further flare-ups.
The number of confirmed deaths from the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires jumped to 25 as of Monday morning. Eight of the fire victims died in the Palisades fire and 17 in the Eaton fire in Altadena, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner and Sheriff Robert Luna.
The Eaton fire, near Altadena and Pasadena, and the Palisades fire, on the west side of Los Angeles, were partly — but not mostly — contained by Monday. But forecasters warned that high winds will return Monday. They issued a rare fire danger alert for Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon, the same one issued a week ago before the fires, which have since grown to become two of the most deadly and destructive in California history.
