A wildfire that burned more than 100 square miles of forest in Northern California for about two weeks this summer was sparked by a malfunctioning water heater, state fire investigators said Wednesday.
The Rocky fire began about 3:30 p.m. July 29 off Morgan Valley Road in Lake County when a gas water heater malfunctioned, caught fire and spread to surrounding brush, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The fire burned nearly 70,000 acres and destroyed 43 homes before it was fully contained Aug. 14.
The Rocky fire briefly ran alongside the Jerusalem fire, which started to its south and has burned more than 25,000 acres.