What sparked the Palisades fire? A beloved hiking trail may hold the grim answers
Hikers and outdoor enthusiasts have long been drawn to Skull Rock north of Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades.
A relatively short hike on the Temescal Ridge trail reveals the skeletal-shaped Skull Rock and dramatic Pacific Ocean views.
Now, this area is the subject of an investigation as a potential starting point for the Palisades fire, which burned thousands of structures last week.
It’s unclear where the fire started, and its cause is under investigation.
Speculation about the cause of Los Angeles’ devastating fires is rampant. The official investigations are now underway.
The general area was the site of a small fire on New Year’s Eve that burned for a few hours before fire officials said they snuffed it out with help from a water-dropping helicopter.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation told The Times that officials are aware of the earlier fire and its general proximity to the Palisades fire. They are looking into whether that could be the cause. Because the area is frequented by the public, the sources said it’s possible a new fire was somehow sparked there on Jan 7.
The earlier fire appears to have been sparked by fireworks, officials said.
As for the Palisades fire, the sources — who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly — said it appears to have human origins, but that the investigation is ongoing.
After dropping his kids off at school around 8:15 a.m. on the day the Palisades fire started, Darrin Hurwitz drove to the area to hike.
He did a five-mile loop that took him up above Skull Rock, and surveyed the burn scar from the New Year’s Eve fire.
“Around the same time, I noticed a bit of a smoky smell. I didn’t make much of it. I figured it was either coming from somewhere else or was the remnants of the fire itself,” he told The Times.
He had done another hike recently in Malibu where the Franklin fire had burned a few weeks earlier and noticed a “faint ash smell.” But the smell on that day near Skull Rock was stronger, he said, and he wondered whether the wind had rustled up ash.
Those looking to assist residents affected by the Los Angeles County firestorm have a number of options to donate money, materials or their time.
One of his neighbors also smelled the smoke, he later learned.
“The timing of this was about an hour before the fire,” he said. “Now, what that all means, I don’t know. Could it be possible that there were still some embers that weren’t out and the winds were kind of rustling them up?”
The fire was first reported about an hour later from the address on Piedra Morada Drive where Nic Libonati’s family lives. In an interview with The Times last week, Libonati confirmed that he was the first to call 911 and that he went to alert his neighbors to the fire.
When Libonati and his sister first spied the fire, he said, it was about two miles from their home. But he knew they were in trouble when he tried to hose down their plants and the wind blew the water back into his face. Libonati realized the flames were headed in their direction.
A specialized team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began processing the scene Monday.
Los Angeles Police Department Asst. Chief Dominic Choi said no causes have been ruled out in the Palisades fire: “There’s been no definitive determination that it is arson at this point, but we’re looking at every angle.”
Law enforcement sources said there are power poles charred nearby but it’s far from clear that they were the point of origin.
If it turns out the Palisades fire was caused by a rekindling of the earlier fire, it would fit a pattern.
The massive Oakland Hills fire of 1991 — which destroyed more than 2,500 structures — exploded after firefighters thought they had contained it. That fire was originally six acres and was declared contained but not out. Firefighters left equipment at the scene but did not monitor it at all times. Winds picked up and then flames quickly consumed homes.
The devastation of the Palisades fire extends to the trail and rock formations.
The Times listed Skull Rock as a top Southern California hike, describing it this way: “Enjoy heavily shaded switchbacks under oaks and coastal chaparral hillsides as you ascend on the Temescal Ridge trail toward panoramic viewpoints that stretch from Santa Monica to the Channel Islands on a clear day. Skull Rock and its boulder buddies are the midpoint of your geological journey and a great locale for some rock scrambling to a picnic perch.”
Hurwitz hiked the trail near his house at least three times a week.
“That trail is spectacular,” Hurwitz said. “It’s just a little bit of everything. It’s really great scenery. It’s definitely one of the more popular trails in L.A. People drive from all over the city to hike it.”
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