in California
Since then, they have been trying to find out how the fire began
Forest fire are often caused by brok en glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away
Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass
They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire
This morning, however, a fireman accidentally discovered the cause
He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line
In this way, he was able to solve the mystery
The explanation was simple but very unusual
A bird had snatched up the snae from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires
The snae then wound itself round the wires
When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and t