Lake County homeowner blamed for Valley fire faults state investigation

The Lake County homeowner blamed for causing last year’s devastating Valley fire with faulty hot tub wiring questioned state investigators’ findings Friday and pointed to a suspicious vehicle he claimed a witness saw in the area just before flames broke out.

John Pinch and co-owners of the Cobb Mountain residence identified as being at the source of the third most destructive fire in state history filed legal papers in Sacramento County Superior Court demanding Cal Fire turn over evidence seized from their High Valley Road property.

The legal maneuver came to light two days after Cal Fire announced the results of an 11-month investigation into the September blaze that killed four people, destroyed nearly 1,300 homes and burned more than 76,000 acres.

Pinch, a retired Sebastopol house painter, and his wife, Cindy, are claiming the physical damage at their property is not consistent with Cal Fire’s theory of how the fire started. They and co-owners Laura and Parker Mills are asking to see evidence they say investigators have so far declined to turn over such as the melted wiring investigators determined sparked the blaze, said Ken Anderson, an attorney for the Pinches.

“We have reviewed Cal Fire’s conclusions on the cause and origin of the fire,” the Pinches said in a written statement released Friday by Anderson’s San Francisco-based firm. “Unfortunately, there remain many unanswered questions and, through no fault of our own, we have been denied the ability to do our own independent investigation.”

The property owners could not be reached for an interview Friday. Their legal papers were filed July 27, two weeks before Cal Fire unveiled its report.

“They are devastated this happened,” Anderson added in an interview. “Whether or not they caused it is still an open question.”

Citing privacy concerns, Anderson would not identify the witness he said reported a vehicle entering the property and parking within feet of where investigators say the fire started. He said the person was on Cal Fire’s published witness list.

“We’ve talked to that eyewitness,” Anderson said. “It’s solid evidence. We don’t know why the heck that vehicle would be on the property.”

Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said Friday the agency chased down numerous leads to determine the cause. An out-of-code electrical connection rigged up by Pinch overheated and ignited dry grass.

Investigators said the faulty connection was the only plausible cause of the fire.

Their report ruled out various other leads ranging from arson and lightning to a report of a neighbor using a lawnmower on the hot Sept. 12 afternoon.

No one was home at the High Valley Road property at the time the blaze started. The residence suffered little damage but flames ravaged the Cobb Mountain neighborhood and spread to other communities in Lake, Sonoma and Napa counties, causing an estimated $1.5 billion in damage.

“At this point we’ve conducted a thorough investigation to determine exactly how this fire started,” Berlant said.

He said physical evidence would be held for use in any subsequent legal proceedings.

The matter has been referred to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal charges. If the homeowners are found to be negligent, they could be liable for up to $57 million in fire suppression costs, Berlant said.

No decisions have been made.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.