Fire information officer Deborah McClain said Tuesday that investigators determined the blaze started July 22 in an area of Garapata State Park where campfires are prohibited.
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Officials want the public’s help to find whoever started the flames that blew up to more than 71 square miles and destroyed 57 homes.
No new injuries were reported among the more than 1,100 firefighters working to contain the two fires, and neither fire is threatening structures. Currently, the blaze has been 18 percent contained.
Several popular California state parks and campgrounds also were closed.
Authorities said firefighters increased containment to 60 per cent.
The blaze has charred more than 6 square miles since igniting Tuesday afternoon.
Residents have been allowed to return to their homes after a 7-square-mile wildfire prompted the evacuation of about two dozen homes in central Washington.
Family members say a 64-year-old man died of a heart attack while trying to evacuate Sunday.
Firefighters in northwest Nevada are bracing for dry, hot winds and the possibility of erratic flames as they battle a series of wildfires that have charred nearly 75 square miles of rangeland. Residents of the rural area surrounded by rolling hills told reporters they scrambled to evacuate with their animals as the wind-driven blaze swept through dry slopes. Recent maps put it at 10.25 square miles, up from about 8 square miles, in a wilderness study area about 20 miles northwest of Gerlach.
A wildfire burning southwest of Crater Lake spread to more than 700 acres, prompting an evacuation warning for some parts of Crater Lake National Park. We do not have their exact number or locations yet, nor do we have a good estimate on the size of the fire.
(Scott) Cali Fire Law enforcement has spent over 150 hours really combing through debris, talking to individuals and were able to determine the cause of the Soberanes fire and that was an illegal unattended camp fire. Authorities said hikers who reported the fire had to first climb up to a ridge top to get mobile phone reception.
Officials say slightly cooler weather and winds Wednesday should help firefighters trying to prevent flames from reaching the small town of Lowman.
Pyramid Lake is about 40 miles north of Reno. Officials say they don’t yet know how many structures have burned or the amount of land.
A few homes were destroyed by a wildland fire north of Moses Lake that triggered a closure of state Route 17 and evacuations on Tuesday.
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The evacuation was ordered all homes north and northeast of Road 10 and H-NE.
