Qualla: Mountain Fire (2013)

Mountain Fire (2013): Introduction

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The fire investigators traced it to a single point: a failure of electrical equipment on private property near the junction of Highway 243 and Highway 74. At 1:43 PM on July 15, 2013, that failure became ignition, and the Mountain Fire began its sixteen-day march through the San Jacinto Mountains. What followed was a $25.8 million firefighting effort, nearly 6,000 evacuated residents, and a legal saga that would span years - all traced back to property owned by a wealthy Saudi businessman.

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Mountain Fire (2013): Racing Through the San Jacintos

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The fire burned on steep slopes of timber and chaparral, the classic fuel load of Southern California's mountain terrain. Within days it reached to within two miles of Palm Springs, draping the resort city in a blanket of ash and smoke. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway shut down. ...

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Mountain Fire (2013): Idyllwild Under Siege

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The artist colony of Idyllwild and nearby Fern Valley faced the fire's direct threat. Nearly 6,000 residents received evacuation orders, loading cars with photographs and pets and irreplaceable memories. Yet unlike many California fires, this one spared the town. The evacuation o...

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Mountain Fire (2013): The Property Owner

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The property where the electrical failure occurred belonged to Tarek M. Al-Shawaf, founder, president, and chairman of Saudconsult - the oldest and largest engineering and architectural firm in Saudi Arabia. A former Saudi government official, Al-Shawaf owned the land through a c...

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Mountain Fire (2013): An Unexplained Resolution

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The legal aftermath took strange turns. In July 2019, after a state court settlement of just over $1.56 million, the DOJ dropped its much larger federal lawsuit against Al-Shawaf. The reason given: acting "in the interest of justice" based on unspecified "new evidence." When the ...

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