The Bobcat Fire in Los Angeles County is now one of the most colossal wildfires in that county in history. After burning for 18 days, the Bobcat Fire is the second largest wildfire in Los Angeles history, second only to the Station Fire of 2009, a blaze that destroyed well over 160,000 acres. As of September 24, 2020, the Bobcat Fire had devastated over 113,000 acres. On that date, officials announced that they had hopes that the Bobcat Fire would be fully contained by the end of September, at a loss of 125,000 acres.
In providing the public information about the status of the blaze, officials also announced for the first time some specific steps that had been taken to ascertain the cause of the Bobcat Fire. These steps include bringing federal investigators into the investigation.
By the third week of September, federal investigators requested access to certain equipment owned or maintained by Southern California Edison. There appears to be growing evidence that the vast Bobcat fire initially was started by some sort of explosion or other mishap with Southern California Edison equipment.
The federal component of the investigation into the start of the Bobcat fire is only starting. With that said, what we do know at this moment is that on September 6 on Mount Wilson, Southern California Edison monitoring equipment detected what the power company is calling an “event.” In fact, there is evidence to support the proposition that some sort of explosion occurred just after noon, an incident involving Southern California Edison equipment.
At 12:10 p.m. on September 6, Edison power company cameras on Mount Wilson detected smoke for the first time. While something of a cliché, the truth is that when it comes to power company equipment, when there is smoke and a suspected explosion of some nature, there is going to be fire somewhere. Within about six minutes of the smoke being noted on Edison Mount Wilson cameras, the Edison electrical circuit in that part of Los Angeles County experienced what technically is known as a “relay operation.” In basic terms, this is a shut down of part of the distribution system as a result of an event or incident than can include some type of explosion, fire, and smoke.
There was a glimmer of good news regarding the massive Bobcat Fire that continues to threaten Los Angeles county. After over two weeks of battling the blaze, firefighters announced that they had made at least some headway in regard to containment. As of September 24, the fire that started September 6 was said to be 38 percent contained. While there is a long way to go in extinguishing the blaze, weary firefighters advised that they were at least pleased this much progress was made.
Beyond containment more generally, firefighters were also able to announce that the iconic Mount Wilson Observatory appears to have been spared the flames. The observatory has had a storied existence and was the most famous observatory in the world during the first half of the 20th century. Up until September 24, the Wilson Observatory was square in the pathway of destruction by the Bobcat Fire.
A tremendous amount of resources has been assigned to battle the Bobcat Fire. As of September 23, these include
- 1,613 firefighting personnel
- 170 engines
- 11 helicopters
- Other resources, including bulldozers and hand-crews
The Bobcat Fire is only one of dozens of wildfires burning in California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and elsewhere in the United States. Millions of acres have been lost to wildfires so fear in 2020, with more acreage going up in flames every day. Billions of dollars of property losses have occurred, together with tragic injuries, including fatal ones.
If you’re like many people who’ve been injured or suffered other losses as the result of incidents like wildfires and explosions caused by the negligence of someone else, a Doan Law Firm explosion accident lawyer is available to you. You can schedule an initial consultation can case evaluation with a Doan Law Firm explosion accident lawyer any time of the day or night by calling (800) 349-0000. There is no charge for an initial consultation of case evaluation.
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