CAL FIRE is suing the owners of Rancho La Scherpa over the Sherpa Fire, which burned thousands of acres near Goleta two years ago.
The fire started on June 15, 2016. According to fire investigators, a resident of Rancho La Scherpa was burning a log in his indoor fireplace when smoke began to fill the residence, so he carried the log outside to a water faucet, dropping hot embers along the way.
The Sherpa Fire burned 7,474 acres northwest of Goleta and destroyed the water treatment facility for the El Capitan State Beach campground. It was contained on July 12, 2016.
The lawsuit, filed this week against Presbyterian Camp and Conference Centers, Inc., seeks to recover the costs of fighting and investigating the fire.
