14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23, 24 25 26 27 SUPPLEMENTARY INVESTIGATION REPORT INCIDENT NUMBER ‘STATE OF CALIFORNIA |___ 18-CA-VNC0900963 DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION ‘CASE NAME LE 74 (REV. 7/2011), —Road Runner DAY | MONTH | DATE | YEAR COUNTY REGION UNIT | CASE NUMBER Thurs | Nov 8 2018 Ventura cSR VNC NARRATIVE: On Saturday, November 10, 2018, at approximately 12:00 PM, | was contacted by Battalion Chief Branden SMITH and told that we had been requested to respond to the HILL Fire, Incident number VNC090993 in Ventura County. SMITH and | arrived at address 1977 Road Runner Ave. Newberry Park, CA 91230, Ventura County at approximately 2:00 PM. SMITH and I were assigned to a fire called the Roadrunner Fire, separate than the Hill Fire. SMITH and I were in our CAL FIRE uniforms and department issued vehicles. As we arrived in the area, we were approached by David MEYER who resides at address 1942 Road Runner Ave. MYER informed us that he witnessed the fire and could direct us to an access point for the fire, SMITH and | followed MYER in our department vehicles until we arrived at an open access gate. MYER escorted us through the open gate where we could see an area of approximately half an acre that had been burned. We could see multiple fire department hose lines. and equipment still at the fire scene. MYER informed SMITH and |, he arrived after fire companies extinguished the fire and left the scene to respond to the Hill Fire approximately 1.5 miles away. MYER told us that he could see the Hill Fire burning in the distance on two separate ridge lines. MYER also told us there were at least two other fires in this same area over the last two to three years. MYER said that the previous fires were caused by the power lines that run through the wild land area directly behind the homes on Roadrunner Ave. Shortly after MYER had left the scene, Investigator #11, Brian KINSLEY with Ventura County Fire Department and Greg DELAROSA, Ventura County Sheriff's Department arrived on scene. KINSLEY explained to SMITH and | there were a total of three fires that were being investigated. The fire on Roadrunner was the first of the three fires that started on November 8", 2018. KINSLEY also informed SMITH and | the scene had not been secured and there had been multiple pedestrians through the burn area over the last two days. KINSLEY told us that the fire had been extensively mopped up and a hand crew had cut a control line around the entire fire. | asked KINSLEY if any other investigators had looked at the fire prior to our arrival? KINSLEY stated he 10F9 OFFICERS INITIALS “2319 20 24 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 had interviewed several people and briefly looked at the fire, but no detailed investigation had been started. KINSLEY told SMITH and | he had interviewed several employees at the Hill Canyon Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). KINSLEY told SMITH and I, several of the WWTP. employees heard and felt a large gust of wind blow through the facility shortly before 1:00 PM. The employees exited the building to see what happened, when they exited the building they heard the Treatment plant generators fire up. As they were walking to the generator room, they saw a small column of smoke coming from the South of the WWTP. | asked KINSLEY if the power lines in our fire area were the power lines that powered the power plant, KINSLEY said yes. Prior to SMITH and | beginning our investigation CAL FIRE Peace Officer Jeremy HILL arrived at ur location. HILL informed SMITH and I, he was assigned to assist us with the investigation on the Roadrunner fire. | asked HILL to go to the WWTP and interview the employees who witnessed the wind event, generator start and the smoke column. HILL submitted a supplemental report of the interviews conducted at the WWTP. SMITH and | began our investigation by walking the perimeter of the fire which in total was approximately one-half acre of light grass and medium fuels such as scrub oak and sage brush. The fire was located behind a locked access gate North of Roadrunner Ave. The access road is paved and turns to dirt as it continues North until it ends, approximately 300 yards from the entrance. There is a section of power lines that parallel the homes on Roadrunner Avenue. When the power lines hit the access road, the section of line turns to the North and runs to the Water Treatment Plant. | noticed several pieces of fire department hose lines left on and around the fire. There was a distinct hand line cut to bare mineral soil around the fire to prevent any burned material traveling into unburned fuel. | also noted extensive water usage or fire suppression damage on the fire, which greatly decreases the ability to identify a Specific Origin Area (SOA) or an Ignition Area (IA). SMITH and | discussed the topic of being able to identify a SOA and an |A due to the fire suppression damage and the scene not being secured for at least two days. SMITH and | concluded our best action would be to identify probable ignition source(s) than to determine an IA. SMITH and | utilized binoculars to examine multiple sections of the power lines which ran the length of the access road and paralleled the homes on Roadrunner Ave. SMITH and | noted several deformities, arc and/or char marks on the power lines. Unable to get a clear view of the 20F9 OFFICERS INITIALS 2BnN earnane 1 12 13 14 15 16 7 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 power lines, we contacted KINSLEY to see if we could get a boom truck to further investigate the power lines. KINSLEY contacted DELAROSA who stated he could have a boom truck first thing in the morning at the fire scene. SMITH and | decided to cease our investigation due to lack of sun light and interview individuals who resided on Roadrunner Ave. I went to address 1977 Road Runner Ave. and met with Bobbi and Angelo NAPOLITANO, home owners. Mrs. NAPOLITANO told me that she saw the fire shortly after it started. NAPOLITANO told me the fire started on the North-West section of road about 100 yards down the access road. NAPOLITANO said the fire started in the grass and then caught a larger shrub on fire on the WEST side of the access road. She then said after the fire ignited the larger shrub, the fire jumped the access road and began to burn faster in the heavier fuels towards the southeast. NAPOLITANO also told me that they did not see anybody in the area prior to or after the fire. She also told me there is little to no foot traffic in the area, and the access gate is always locked. MR. and MRS. NAPOLITANO also told me there was another fire last year in the same area that was. caused by the power lines running behind their house. | next went to address 1985 Road Runner Ave. and spoke with the home owner, Chris BORKOVEC. BORKOVEC told me he was not home at the time the fire started, he arrived after the fire had been extinguished. BORKOVEC did tell me there had been multiple fires in the immediate area and they had been caused by the power lines every time they would have a wind event. Lastly, | spoke with the home owners at address 2001 Road Runner Avenue, Mark and Lisa FANJOY. The FANJOY'S told me they know of three separate fires that have occurred directly behind their house over the past couple years. They told me the fires started by the power lines, and each fire started during a wind event. Mark FANJOY also told me the communication lines below the power lines had just been repaired. He said there was loose wire hanging from the communication lines on the power pole. Mr. FRANJOY also stated he saw the communications company use a machine to re-stretch wire around the communication line to reattach it to the support cable. Mrs. FANJOY stated she witnessed one of the previous fires start from an arching power pole behind her house. The FANJOY’S told me they see very litle foot traffic in the area where the fires had occurred 30F9 OFFICERS INITIALS KB