That’s according to Jay Lindemuth, fire forester with the state Bureau of Forestry’s Cornplanter Fire District headquartered in North Warren, who is serving as lead wildland fire investigator for the 62-acre fire that broke out Monday night.

He declined to give any further information as to the cause but detailed steps of the investigation.

Lindemuth said that he was contacted by Allegheny National Forest officials on Monday night and asked to investigate the origin and cause. The investigation began as soon as he was dispatched.

“As an investigator, I am collecting as much information about the fire as possible before I ever arrive on scene,” he explained.

Calvin Bernal speaks during a briefing held Wednesday morning at the Roper Hollow Boat Launch.

That initial information will seek to answer several key questions: Who called the fire in? Was anyone observed near the scene? Were there photos taken by agencies that initially responded?

“That proved vital in this investigation,” Lindemuth said. “I received a photo when the fire was five to 10 acres in size, from the USFS (U.S. Forest Service), which narrows the search, and gives me a starting point, opposed to looking over the entire 62 acre fire.”

Most wildfires originate in one of several ways – burning debris, equipment use, powerlines, railroads, campsites, lightning and arson, among others.

“An investigator goes into a fire and starts ruling out these potential causes,” Lindemuth explained. “In this particular case I could rule out several causes because of where it was located – no power lines, no railroads, no houses. Also we hadn’t received lightning in several days.”

Federal officials said that fire investigators were on scene Tuesday. Lindemuth painted a picture of what he’d be looking for once he arrived on scene.

“(T)he fire the investigator starts to look at burn patterns on the trees, rocks, and remaining vegetation,” he said. “The char, and staining on these items will tell the story of how that fire burned at that particular spot. The investigator starts putting all of these indicators together, and follows the fire back to where it started, or the specific origin.”

He said the odds of finding a cause increase when “an origin area is pristine,” meaning it “has not been disturbed by the public or suppression efforts by firefighters.”

“Once the investigator gets close to where the fire started we start looking not only at the smaller burn patterns, but also anything out of place, unnatural items such as paper, plastic, matches, etc.,” Lindemuth explained. “The evidence at the origin of a wildfire is very fragile, and oftentimes very small. But even on these items, and small indicators, the investigator can trace the fire back to where it started, or at least very close to where it started. Oftentimes the origin area of the fire, the fire activity, and severity is far less then the area outside the origin area that is burned. As the fire progresses it gets more intense.”

Investigators will also keep an eye out for tire impressions on roadways, foot prints and other signs of human activity.

“Basically the wildland fire investigation is a process of elimination, based on evidence, burn patterns, etc. found at the scene,” he said. “By ruling out causes, and having the evidence to back it up, eliminates the potential for a biased determination of fire cause.

“What is often the case is the investigator either finds exactly what caused the fire, or has eliminated all other causes down to two or three potential causes, where further investigation is needed.”

While people might want answers quickly, that might not be possible. Lindemuth noted that the April 2021 Hemlock Fire was caused by arson but is still under investigation as the responsible party hasn’t been found.

“Persons responsible for the cause of a wildfire can be held responsible for suppression costs, damages, and can face legal action against them,” he said. “This is when the public can be of great assistance and help in the investigation, they may have the tip that will close the case.”