Cause Of Last Summer’s Woods Fire Still A Mystery

Photo by Brent Eslick

Sonora, CA — One of the most high-profile fires last summer in Tuolumne County ignited shortly before 9pm on the first day of September in the vicinity of Highway 108 near Stockton Road.

It was near the former Camp Hope homeless camp.

Several nearby neighborhoods were evacuated late at night due to the “Woods Fire” (North Drive, Outlook Drive, Martha Lane, Golden Dove, Silver Pine, Circle Lane, Alley Drive, Charbroullian Lane, Golf Links Road, Mountain Vista Court and McKibbin) and other areas were placed under a lesser evacuation warning.

It burned 21 acres and the forward spread was stopped late in the evening. Full containment came days later.

Clarke Broadcasting reached out to CAL Fire to see if a cause was ever determined. The agency’s spokesperson, Emily Kilgore, notes that it is “still under investigation,” per the investigator.

The fire was in a similar area as the Washington Fire, one year prior, in August of 2021. Fire officials ruled that the 136-acre blaze that summer was “accidental” and ruled out arson. A specific cause was undetermined.