Cause Of Rocky Fire Partly Found In Faulty Water Heater

Cause of Rocky Fire partly found in faulty water heater The massive Rocky Fire that started in Lake County and burned nearly 70,000 acres and more than 40 homes this summer was partly sparked by a faulty water heater in an outbuilding, officials said Wednesday. “CAL FIRE Law Enforcement officers have determined that the cause of one of the two fires, which grew together to become known as the Rocky Fire, was the result of the failure of a gas water heater in an outbuilding that contained flammable liquids,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement. The Rocky Fire began July 29 and destroyed 43 homes, 53 outbuildings and eight other structures as it swept through Lake, Yolo and Colusa counties, fueled by terrain dried from four years of drought. The fire also caused the evacuations of thousands of local residents, threatened another 7,500 homes and prompted Gov.