The head of the Orange County agency that started the Airport Fire in Trabuco Canyon last month has stepped down, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
James Treadaway left his role as director of Orange County Public Works late last week and is no longer a county employee, said O.C. spokesperson Shannon Widor to the Times.
Though the reason for Treadaway’s departure was not disclosed by that spokesperson and he did not return the Times’ request for comment, the change comes at a pivotal point for the agency.
Public Works employees moving boulders using heavy machinery during a triple-digit heat wave sparked the blaze, resulting in more than 20,000 acres burned.
To even attempt such work was “reckless and stupid,” a former firefighter told the Orange County Register.
“It’s triple digits and you’re going to use a big piece of steel equipment to hit rocks? That always causes sparks,” said Steve Palmer, a former firefighter in Villa Park. “Who wouldn’t know that or assume that?”
In Treadaway’s absence, County Engineer Kevin Onuma will head the department as interim director, the Register reports.