Friday blaze burns two acres of hillside
Morgan Hill – Several homes in a neighborhood west of downtown Morgan Hill were evacuated briefly Friday afternoon as a grass fire quickly swept up a hillside next to Nob Hill Terrace, fueled by an abundance of dry grass and gusty winds.
The blaze blackened two acres of the hillside before firefighters contained it in approximately 10 minutes.
No one was injured.
“It’s fortunate the wind didn’t push it back,” Morgan Hill police Cmdr. Joe Sampson said, nodding to a carport with one car inside perched on the edge of the hillside. If the wind had changed direction from southeast to north, it could have swept the flames towards the carport and the residences across the street.
Sampson said police officers evacuated three houses on the other side of the hill in case the fire continued to sweep farther south.
Santa Clara County Fire Department Battalion Chief Bart Kriek said though the arson investigator has not officially determined the cause of the fire, it seems apparent the fire was started by a match or a cigarette.
“There’s nothing electrical here, nothing to cause a spark like a lawnmower,” he said.
Sampson said based on the time of the fire, which was just after 3pm, and the location, along a dirt path that some Britton Middle School students use as a shortcut on their way to and from school, it could have been a student.
A locker room at Britton Middle School was set on fire Sunday morning, possibly an arson attempt; though the investigation is ongoing.
Britton Middle School Principal Russom Mesfun has said he is working with police authorities to find those responsible.
Sampson said the two fires could be related.
“There’s no way to tell right now; it could be, but we really won’t know until we catch someone, or if the investigation finds that the same accelerants were used,” he said.
Kriek said 25 firefighters – both from the SCCFD and the California Department of Forestry – responded to the blaze. Two SCCFD engines and three CDF engines responded, along with two water tankers, a bulldozer and paramedics. An air tanker also arrived above the scene, Kriek said, but it wasn’t needed and was canceled.
Sampson said MHPD dispatchers received several calls reporting the fire. A witness said he was getting ready for work when he saw something smoldering near the bottom of the hillside, and when he came out of the house shortly afterwards, the flames had already spread up the slope covered with brittle brown grass.
Engines arrived very quickly, Sampson said, within a few minutes, and he said their quick response likely kept the fire from causing greater damage.
“A grass fire, no, it’s not good, but it could have been much worse,” he said. “We don’t want it to get anywhere near any people.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
