From the news today --
Authorities are trying to determine the cause of the fires and, while they're not ruling out the possibility of arson, one theory that is gaining ground is that overhead power transmission and distribution cables, shaken or blown down by strong winds, may have produced sparks that ignited the dry vegetation below.
The region's public-sector power companies usually cut power in the event of “alerts” such as the Santa Ana winds, but this wasn't the case this time.
Authorities are trying to determine the cause of the fires and, while they're not ruling out the possibility of arson, one theory that is gaining ground is that overhead power transmission and distribution cables, shaken or blown down by strong winds, may have produced sparks that ignited the dry vegetation below.
The region's public-sector power companies usually cut power in the event of “alerts” such as the Santa Ana winds, but this wasn't the case this time.