Overview

• Fire investigators arrested and released a suspect within hours of the blaze but lack of evidence has left the deliberately set fire unsolved for four decades.
• On July 1, 1985 the blaze charred 150 acres in the hills above Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills, destroying 13 homes and leaving over 40 people homeless.
• More than 200 firefighters from 21 agencies and aerial resources, including airtankers and helicopters, marked the region’s largest mutual-aid wildfire response at the time.
• There were no human fatalities, though firefighters suffered numerous injuries and four horses died during the battle to control the flames.
• The disaster drove new rules on fire-retardant roofing, annual brush clearance, green belts and interagency coordination that still guide modern wildfire planning.