Community to Couple Who Sparked Deadly California Carr Fire: It’s Not Your Fault

The Carr wildfire—now the eight biggest in Californian history—started because of a freak accident when a couple’s trailer got a flat tire and its rim scraped some asphalt, sending out the sparks that ignited the flames. Now the community that has been devastated by the blaze has reached out to the couple who own the faulty trailer to tell them it’s not their fault. The fire, which ignited July 23, has since blazed along Highway 299, hitting rural and residential areas and killing at least seven people. Redding resident Rachel Pilli decided to reach out to the trailer’s owners with a message of compassion—a message on social media asking if anyone else wanted to show their support, which led to 100 letters pouring in. “I was thinking if I could send a card, maybe my friends would also send a card,” Pilli told CNN affiliate KRCR. “We had firefighters out there fighting the fire send notes, we’ve had counselors saying they would be willing to meet with the couple, we’ve had people who’ve lost everything and they are even saying it’s not your fault.” The couple hasn’t been identified by authorities.