Almost as fast as flames spread through 1,000 acres of brush, eucalyptus groves and structures along Trabing Road, so did the stories about how the fire got started mid-afternoon on June 20. First reports suggested that teens driving north on Highway 1 about 2 p.m. were spotted by other motorists throwing flammables out of their car windows. According to Santa Cruz County's public information officer Dinah Phillips, this first published report gave way to one the next...

Despite frequent reports on local radio and in daily newspapers suggesting authorities believed the Trabing Fire was arson, Cal Fire...

Faced with a fast-moving fire and no owners at home, too many animals who were right where they should be never had a chance to escape...

To date, according to Cal Fire's battalion chief Paul Van Gerwen, some 10 structures and 10 uninhabited buildings were destroyed by...