A wildfire sending huge columns of smoke into the sky Sunday
burned 30 acres of private grassland a mile west of Casa De Fruta
on Pacheco Pass Highway, leaving the area near the old Almaden
Winery charred.
A wildfire sending huge columns of smoke into the sky Sunday burned 30 acres of private grassland a mile west of Casa De Fruta on Pacheco Pass Highway, leaving the area near the old Almaden Winery charred.
No structures were lost in the blaze that sparked at 4:30 p.m. south of the Pacheco Pass Y where Highways 152 and 156 meet, and nobody was injured by the time California Department of Forestry firefighters had the blaze under control at 10 p.m.
The CDF is still trying to determine the cause of the fire.
“It was a pretty hot fire,” said CDF Capt. Joe Gonzalez. “It put up a good column of smoke and raced with the wind for a while, but fortunately we were able to contain it pretty quick.”
At least 65 firefighters, 10 CDF engines, two hand crews, two air tankers and two helicopters helped control the blaze at 30 acres, according to Gonzalez.
Neither highways 152 nor 156 were closed during the fire.
A house at 15825 Murphy Ave. near Tennant Avenue caught fire Sunday afternoon.
According to CDF Capt. Mike Matheson, although the investigation into the cause of the fire is continuing, it appears that a barbecue grill was left a little to close to the home and ignited a fire which ran up the side of the house to the attic. The attic area was destroyed, but damage estimates were not yet available.
No one was injured in the 5:45 p.m. blaze, and firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze in approximately 45 minutes.
A grass fire burned approximately two acres along Hwy. 101 at Tennant Avenue Saturday, according to Capt. Mike Sanders with the Santa Clara County Fire Department’s El Toro Station.
“Fire season is definitely here,” he said Monday. “We’ve had a number of small fires througout the area. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for people to be careful and consider what they are doing. We have had a number of people starting fires with lawn mowers, small things like that, that fortunately haven’t ended tragically, but it is the kind of thing that could get out of hand quickly, considering the dry conditions.”
