SOMIS, Calif. (KABC) -- It's been a year since the Mountain Fire tore through Ventura County burning nearly 20,000 acres and destroying over 100 homes. Investigators say they now know what caused it.

The blaze broke out on Nov. 6, 2024 amid heavy winds in Somis, there very same community where just days before firefighters had extinguished the Balcom Fire, which was sparked by a tractor working in the area.

But now investigators believe hot debris from a burned tire remained underneath that tractor, and when the winds rages and the temperatures spiked, that hot debris dislodged sparking the destructive Mountain Fire.

The fire raced into neighboring Camarillo, torching property after property. When the smoke cleared several days later, the fire had burned nearly 20,000 acres and destroy

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