Catalytic Converter Started Freeway Complex Fire

A report says hot debris that flew from a car's catalytic converter caused a wildfire that burned more than 300 homes in Southern California last year.

The final cause report issued Monday by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection after a seven-month investigation says honeycomb-shaped pieces found in Yorba Linda that make up the insides of a catalytic converter sparked the so-called Freeway Complex Fire, one of several that torched the region in November.

Capt. Fernando Herrera says investigators could not determine what vehicle the debris came from and are unlikely to find out.

The fire destroyed 314 homes and forced 40,000 people to evacuate in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. No one was killed or injured.