TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Twenty-four hours after a fast-moving wildfire scorched more than 1,400 acres and burned dozens of homes in the Old West Ranch area, fire investigators were saying little about the cause and location of the spark that started it all.

Old West residents were not quite so tight-lipped.

"This whole thing is still under investigation," said Kern County fire spokesman Anthony Romero. Mapping out the origin and spread of the fire, he added, was out of the question this early in the game.

But residents of the rugged, "off-the-grid" mountain neighborhood were sharing bits of information faster than the spread of the wildfire. And by Wednesday afternoon, an accepted theory had been codified.

George Plesko, whose home was destroyed, may have had the best vantage point at around 2 p.m. Tuesday when strong, erratic winds apparently transformed a modest flame into an inferno.

A few men were using a metal grinder at a place off Blackburn Canyon Road the locals call Frenchie's place or Raus Circle, Plesko said. The grinder was sending sparks flying.

Plesko said when he pulled his truck into Raus Circle in the heart of the canyon, he saw three men trying to put out a fire with buckets of sand.

"By then, it was getting into the sagebrush and trees," Plesko said. "It was crazy how fast it was burning."

Plesko said he took shovels from the bed of his truck and shouted for the men to throw more dirt on the fire that by then had burned a 50-foot area.

Plesko said he recognized one of the men as being a squatter who frequented the area, collecting and cutting up metal that was scattered around Raus Circle.

An elderly man who no longer lives on the property was described by a neighbor as a pack rat who stacked metal and other objects on his 40 acres. Squatters allegedly go onto the property and illegally haul away the junk metal for resale.

"When the fire started they skinned out," Plesko said of the men. "A spark like that can start an open fire. It just started roaring."

Plesko called 911 twice Tuesday afternoon and soon saw smoke billowing overhead. He and a couple firefighters covered themselves in water before leaving the area.

"It was so smoky, you couldn't see," Plesko said.

SQUATTERS

By Wednesday, AT&T crews were already replacing burned telephone poles and wires in Old West Ranch. Telephone landlines are one of the only outside services residents enjoy in the community. Most use solar, wind, propane, gas generators, or a combination of those for power.

But the economic downturn has apparently pushed a growing number of people to move into the area without the express OK from landowners, several residents said Wednesday.

"A lot of people have moved in without permission," said Bert Bockover, who owns a property parcel in the area. "It's a really hard situation."

Bockover's mobile home was burned to the ground Tuesday, but other structures on his property were spared.

"I'm so absolutely amazed at the things that didn't burn," said the 57-year-old.

GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL

A sign posted along Summers Drive by the Greater Tehachapi Fire Safe Council pointed out that the land behind it was a "Defensible Space Demonstration Lot." The lot was blackened by Tuesday's firestorm.

Just up the road at the home of Robert and Donna Moran, the couple and some friends worked to clean up after the fire. An array of large solar panels, a propane tank, a well-tended vegetable garden and the Moran home were spared, even as nearby homes and structures were gutted.

Robert Moran credited firefighters for keeping the flames at bay. But he was up all night watching for spot fires.

"This is what everyone who lives up here knows can happen," he said, looking around at the destruction.

The fire didn't necessarily move in a linear direction, Moran said. The wind sent embers sailing in several directions -- as evidenced by blackened spots dotting his property.

Moran said he has homeowners insurance, though the cost is much higher for homes like those in Old West that are more than five miles from the nearest fire station.

But for Moran, the cost -- and even the danger from fire -- is not too high a price to pay for the beauty and solitude.

"I can sit on that bench down there for 30 minutes," he said pointed toward the east side of his property, "and not see a single car go by."

Plesko, who said he saw the men who sparked the blaze, said he spoke with fire officials Tuesday regarding the cause.

He visited the evacuation center in Tehachapi on Tuesday evening, stayed at the Holiday Inn on Tuesday night and was back at the center Wednesday, where he took his first diabetes medication since leaving his home.

One of his many cats, Little Gray, was found and brought to Plesko at the evacuation center. Some of his other pets have not been accounted for.