Slow-moving blaze confined to living room and hallway
Flames were shooting out of a ground floor window when firefighters arrived at a house fire that caused extensive damage late Friday morning in Woodland Acres west Morgan Hill.
Smoke from the blaze in a hillside custom-home subdivision could be seen for miles. Flames climbed the walls of the two-story home at 17710 Woodland Ave. from a blown out window of the living room.
Fast-acting firefighters from four agencies quickly brought the blaze reported at 10:44am under control and kept the damage to only the front of the house.
The cause of the fire has not been determined but is believed to be accidental. The blaze appeared to have smoldered for some time before it was discovered, firefighters said.
Gary Wright, who has lived in the house for 19 years with his wife, said they were not at home they learned of the fire from neighbors who telephoned them.
Wright said he was thankful for both the time it occurred and the neighbors who reported the fire.
“If this had been in the middle of the night, who knows what would have happened,” Wright said. “We have some great neighbors.”
Curtis Hamilton, who lives across the street, said he didn’t hear anything but was alerted the a problem when smoke began to billow skyward.
“We saw a large puff of white smoke and the front window broke,” Hamilton said. “We saw the fire and immediately called the fire department.”
The fire quickly went to two alarms. Units from the Santa Clara County Fire Department, Gilroy and San Jose fire departments along with California Department of Forestry responded.
Capt. Dennis Johnson, a fire department investigator, said the blaze was mostly contained to the living room. He said it reached a hallway.
Johnson estimated structural damage at $100,000. He said an estimate of content loss would be available later.
The price of homes in the area range from $750,000 to $1 million.
