Painted Cave fire - wikipedia Painted Cave fire Painted Cave Fire Location Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara County, California Coordinates 34 ° 30 ′ N 119 ° 47 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 34.50 ° N 119.79 ° W ﻿ / 34.50 ; - 119.79 Coordinates : 34 ° 30 ′ N 119 ° 47 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 34.50 ° N 119.79 ° W ﻿ / 34.50 ; - 119.79 Statistics Date ( s ) June 27, 1990 ( 1990 - 06 - 27 ) -- July 2, 1990 ( 1990 - 07 - 02 ) Burned area 5,000 acres ( 20 km ) Cause Arson Buildings destroyed 427 Fatalities Perpetrator ( s ) Leonard Ross Map The Painted Cave Fire was a devastating wildfire that burned in the Santa Ynez Mountains and the city of Santa Barbara, within Santa Barbara County, California. The fire, which began near Painted Cave, was intentionally set near at the intersection of Highway 154 ( San Marcos Pass Road ) and Painted Cave Road, burned 5,000 acres ( 20 km ), destroyed 427 buildings, and killed 1 civilian. Contents 1 Timeline of events 2 Investigation and settlement 3 See also 4 References Timeline of events The day had already been a long one for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department which had battled a 3 - alarm fire in the county dump. While still mopping up from the dump fire, the call went out at 6 : 02pm for a brush fire on Highway 154 and Painted Cave Road. On this Wednesday evening temperatures topped off at 109 degrees, an all - time record for that date, fueling some of the worst sundowner winds ever recorded. The first engine arrived on scene at 6 : 05pm and was met with winds gusting over 40 miles per hour ( 64 km / h ) with about 2 acres ( 0.81 ha ) actively burning. Less than 20 minutes later, the fire had traveled over 2 miles ( 3.2 km ) and flames were reaching 70 feet ( 21 m ) into the air. The fire proceeded into residential neighborhoods of Santa Barbara, fueled by sundowner winds, eventually jumping U.S. Route 101 at 7 : 42PM. In less than two hours the fire had traveled nearly 4 miles ( 6.4 km ), destroying 430 structures and killing one person. It was the largest loss of structures since the Bel Air Fire of 1961. The state fire marshal called it the `` fastest - moving fire of its type ever in the United States. '' The sole fatality of the fire, Andrea Lang Gurka, age 37, died while fleeing the flames along San Marcos Pass Road. Investigation and settlement Very quickly after the fire started, investigators determined that the blaze was the work of an arsonist and were able to trace it back to its origin. From there, however, the case ran cold and sat unsolved for over 5 years. The case was reopened in 1995 when Peggy Finley, a former girlfriend to Leonard Ross, told her minister that Ross had confessed to igniting the fire in an attempt to `` burn out his neighbor '' but the fire `` got out of hand. '' After an investigation of Ross, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas W. Sneddon, Jr. decided not to file criminal charges saying that the case against Ross was too weak. However, Ross then sued the county for investigating him and the county saw an opening. A countersuit was filed accusing Ross of starting the fire and the jury ruled in the county 's favor, 9 - 3. See also Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park References ^ Jump up to : Aguilar, David ( 27 June 2015 ). `` A look back at the Painted Cave Fire on the 25th Anniversary ''. KSBY. Retrieved 26 August 2015. ^ Jump up to : Dalton, Keith ; Rigdon, Joan ( 1 Jan 2013 ). `` The Paint Fire 1990 ''. Santa Barbara News - Press. Retrieved 27 August 2015. ^ Jump up to : Cappon, Sally ( 26 June 2015 ). `` Horror of Painted Cave Fire Rekindled 25 Years Later ''. Noozhawk. Retrieved 27 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` The East Bay Hills Fire '' ( PDF ). Federal Emergency Management Agency. October 1991. Retrieved 27 August 2015. Jump up ^ Johnson, John ( 7 November 2000 ). `` A Final Flare - Up From Disastrous 1990 Fire ''. LA Times. Retrieved 27 August 2015. Jump up ^ Watson, Carol ( 7 July 1990 ). `` Fire Victim 's Husband Has a Mission ''. LA Times. Retrieved 27 August 2015. ^ Jump up to : Johnson, John ( 4 December 2000 ). `` Man Ordered to Pay $2.75 Million for Painted Cave Fire ''. LA Times. Retrieved 26 August 2015. California wildfires Pre-2000 Santiago Canyon ( 1889 ) Berkeley ( 1923 ) Matilija ( 1932 ) Griffith Park ( 1933 ) Rattlesnake ( 1953 ) Bel Air ( 1961 ) Laguna ( 1970 ) Marble Cone ( 1977 ) Agoura - Malibu firestorm ( 1978 ) Panorama ( 1980 ) Painted Cave ( 1990 ) Oakland Hills ( 1991 ) Mount Vision ( 1995 ) 2002 Biscuit McNally 2003 Old Simi Cedar Rumsey 2005 Labor Day Topanga 2006 Sawtooth Complex Day Esperanza 2007 Island Angora Zaca Moonlight October 2007 wildfires Harris Witch Buckweed Santiago Rice Corral 2008 Summit Indians Basin Complex Klamath Theater Complex Gap Sesnon Tea Sayre Freeway Complex 2009 Jesusita La Brea Lockheed Station Cottonwood Guiberson Bull West Crown 2011 Lion Comanche Complex 2012 Barry Point Rush Ponderosa 2013 Summit Springs Powerhouse Mountain Silver Rim Clover 2014 Colby Etiwanda May 2014 wildfires Bernardo Tomahawk Poinsettia Cocos Shirley Bully Happy Camp Complex Meadow King Boles 2015 Round Lake North Wragg Rocky River Complex Frog Rough Dodge Jerusalem Cuesta Butte Valley Tassajara Solimar 2016 Pony Sherpa Border Pine San Gabriel Complex Erskine Trailhead Deer Curry Sage Roblar Sand Soberanes Goose Cold Pilot Mineral Chimney Clayton Blue Cut Cedar Rey Gap Bogart Willard Owens River Canyon Sawmill Marshes Loma 2017 Gate Holcomb Schaeffer Salmon August Complex Manzanita Hill Winters Alamo Wall Whittier Detwiler Empire Parker 2 Young Pier Railroad Ponderosa Mud Slinkard Helena La Tuna Palmer Mission October 2017 wildfires Atlas Tubbs Canyon 2 December 2017 wildfires Thomas Creek Rye Skirball Lilac Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Painted_Cave_Fire&oldid=790138360 '' Categories : Wildfires in Santa Barbara County, California 1990 fires 1990 in California 1990s wildfires Santa Barbara, California Santa Ynez Mountains Arson in California Wildfires caused by arson 1990 crimes in the United States 1990 natural disasters in the United States Hidden categories : Coordinates not on Wikidata Wildfire articles needing images Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 11 July 2017, at 20 : 44. About Wikipedia

Question: when was the painted cave fire in santa barbara
Answer: June 27, 1990 (1990-06-27) – July 2, 1990