Police arrested a suspect they think caused the morning fire
that burned part of a PG
&
amp;E substation yard and threatened a nearby convalescent home
and church.
Police arrested a suspect they think caused the morning fire that burned part of a PG&E substation yard and threatened a nearby convalescent home and church.
Clouds of black, white and gray smoke puffed into the sky over downtown Morgan Hill as the fire consumed a pile of unused utility poles as firefighters arrived at the scene Friday morning.
The fire was reported about 11:10 a.m., starting in a grassy area near the intersection of Noble Court and Peak Avenue, according to Santa Clara County fire department staff.
Authorities arrested a suspect thought to have intentionally caused the fire, according to PG&E spokeswoman Monica Tell. Police could not be immediately contacted for details.
Nearby structures occupied by hundreds of children and adults watched the flames closely, but were spared from damage and injuries. Firefighters from the county, South County and Calfire extinguished the fire by about 12:45 p.m.
The only damage reported was the burned utility poles, laying in a pile on the edge of the grassy area encircled by Pacific Hills Manor on Noble Court, St. Catherine Parish on Peak Avenue, the PG&E substation on Main Avenue and several homes.
The poles belonged to PG&E, according to Tell. No live electrical power lines or electrical equipment was burned and no power outages occurred as a result of the fire, Tell added.
Staff of St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic School called the fire department as soon as they saw the smoke and flames, according to principal Fabienne Esparza. Staff members also watered down the property lines on the eastern side of the property, which was closest to the fire, as a precaution.
Although the incident ended safely for the school, Esparza decided to send all the students home “on a rainy day schedule.” The principal will write a letter to parents to let them know what happened.
“We don’t want the students out there in the smoke because the power lines are (threatened),” Esparza said while the fire was still burning about 11:45 a.m.
At Pacific Hills Manor, a convalescent home, residents and staff watched as the wind blew the smoke and flames away from the building, executive director Valerie Alves said. The 98 residents were not evacuated from the facility.
“It would be an evacuation only if the facility would be threatened by the flames, or smoke would put residents at risk,” Alves said. “Everything was blowing in the other direction, thank goodness.”
Angela Ruggiero contributed to this story
