FRESNO, Calif. _ How the Creek fire ignited at the start of Labor Day weekend remains under investigation nearly a month after the blaze began, becoming the largest single wildfire in California history.
Alex Olow, spokesman for Sierra National Forest, said the investigation is ongoing "and no comment can be made at this time."
"When completed," Olow wrote Monday night, "a formal announcement will be made to the public."
Sierra National Forest Supervisor Dean Gould also said during an interview last week that the fire remains under investigation, adding that he was "just as curious" about its cause.
Additionally, a Cal Fire spokesperson for the Creek fire this week said only that the fire remains under investigation. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said it is not involved with the investigation to determine the fire's cause.
It started Sept. 4 in the Big Creek area, a small Fresno County community in the Sierra National Forest. In 1994, another fire started there in a Southern California Edison powerhouse.
The Creek fire has consumed more than 305,000 acres and destroyed 855 structures, racing through Big Creek, Huntington Lake, Shaver Lake, Mammoth Pool and the San Joaquin River canyon. Officials have said that a large number of dead trees, dry conditions and climate change contributed to its rapid growth. Full containment is not expected until the end of October.
The Creek fire has stayed southeast of Yosemite National Park, continuing to stretch through and across the Sierra Nevada. Fire officials on Tuesday reported it was about 10 to 12 miles west of Mammoth Lakes in the Eastern Sierra.
More than 8,000 California wildfires this year have burned around 3.8 million acres, Cal Fire said. New wildfires ignited this weekend in wine country and Northern California.
Five of the six largest California wildfires recorded since 1932 have happened this year. All sparked since August, when a series of lightning storms started many fires.
Among those determined to be caused by lightning is the SQF Complex fire that ignited Aug. 19, burning south of the Creek fire. Sequoia National Park remains closed due to that fire.
The El Dorado fire in Southern California _ which began Sept. 5, the day after the Creek fire started _ was sparked by a device at a gender reveal party, investigators on that fire announced earlier this month. A firefighter died battling that blaze and another remained missing Tuesday.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office in August announced a man was arrested on suspicion of setting the Dolan fire near Big Sur, although the official cause of that fire remains listed as "unknown."
