California Man Sets 2,000 Homes Ablaze: Sergio Martinez was a simple man who wanted to start a signal fire in the hope that he would be found. The novice hunter was lost in the dry hills of San Diego County, and he was growing dehydrated. So he lit a match and killed 15 people, injured 113, destroyed 2,820 buildings, and ravaged 280,278 acres in what would be known as the Cedar Fire.