BOULDER CREEK – The Bear Fire started on a 30-acre property that was the site of a chop-shop bust in 2015 and is now littered with dozens of charred cars, trucks and tractors, according to witness accounts.
“It definitely originated from there,” said Tom Byrd who lives just north of the property, which is situated between Bear Creek Canyon Road to the south and Rons Road to the north.
Byrd, president of the Bear Creek Canyon Road Association, said he watched the fire “coming directly out of that property” on Monday night.
Byrd said he had a clear view of the growing inferno from Rons Road about 11 p.m. Monday, where he and another neighbor worked with shovels to try to prevent the flames from jumping the roadway. Boulder Creek Fire Chief Kevin McClish arrived shortly after and was one of the first firefighters at the scene.
“I got a call from a neighbor saying there’s a fire starting down on that property. I went down on the Rons Road and I could hear — there were a lot of explosions going on, ammunition lighting up, other explosions, I don’t know what they were,” said Byrd, who was forced to retreat when flames climbed the tree tops and exploded, spreading flames across Rons Road.
McClish said that when he arrived, the fire was just a few acres, running up both sides of the canyon south of Rons Road. County records show that area is within the bounds of the property where Byrd said the fire started.
Another neighbor, Marvin Hinshaw, said he saw the fire spreading from the same property Monday night before evacuating his home on Dons Road, which overlooks the area.
The witness accounts are consistent with information from Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. Sgt. Chris Clark on Tuesday said the Bear Fire is believed to have originated in the area of Bear Creek Canyon Road in which the property sits.
On Thursday, charred husks of dozens of old cars flanked each side of a private road running through the property.
Sheriff’s office vehicles were parked at the base of the gated roadway called Diane’s Way and multiple investigators were walking on the property.
CHOP SHOP
The property made headlines in 2015 when law enforcement officers, operating on a tip, recovered 13 stolen motorcycles, cars and a trailer from the site.
Resident Julia Cabibi was charged with possession of stolen vehicles, drug possession and being a felon in possession of a gun and ammunition, according to the sheriff’s office.
Cabibi pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen vehicle on Feb. 3, court records show.
In September, a slew of drug charges were dismissed and Cabibi was ordered to serve three years of probation.
A telephone number previously listed for Cabibi was out of service Thursday.
Multiple neighbors, including Hinshaw, said Cabibi still lives at the property which is known for late-night comings and goings and what Byrd called “unsavory” activity.
AREA IN QUESTION
“It’s affectionately referred to as the ghetto, or not so affectionately,” said Maggi Quinlan, who lives nearby and was one of the first people to report the fire after she saw glowing and smoke from her deck at about 10:30 p.m. Monday.
Quinlan said about seven years ago, so much garbage began to pile up on the property that it was visible in a satellite image brought to a road association meeting.
How the fire could have started on the property remains unclear. Multiple fire pits were visible from the roadway, scorched by flames, and farther up, generators, gas canisters and what appeared to be fuel tanks were visible further into the property, intermingled with dozens of burned husks of cars.
The 320-acre Bear Fire started Monday night as flames torched treetops and climbed a steep ridge above Bear Creek Canyon Road, searing underbrush throughout the old-growth stands.
The steady fire threatened 300 homes and 1,000 residents, who were advised to evacuate Bear Creek Road from Boulder Creek to Las Cumbres up Skyline Boulevard.
Nearly 1,000 firefighters assembled hand crews, working chainsaws and axes to remove forest fuels and establish a complete fire line. By Thursday, that goal was accomplished with expectations that the fire would not continue to spread, with a chance of rain and light wind Thursday night.
