Blaze causes $750,000 in damages; one man suffers heat
exhaustion
Morgan Hill – A two-story home off Uvas Drive was destroyed Friday in a late morning fire, causing an estimated $750,000 in structural damage and injuring one man, whom fire officials believe was trying to put out the flames with a garden hose.
The man, in his 60s, was transported to an area hospital suffering from heat exhaustion.
Heavy smoke was reported billowing from 15585 Uvas Road about 10:15am, and by the time California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection personnel arrived on scene eight minutes later, the house was 75 percent engulfed, fire officials said.
“In essence, the house was a total loss upon arrival,” said CDF Battalion Chief Mike Stonum.
The surrounding vegetation is not quite ready to burn yet, he added.
“In another month and a half this would have been a different story. This would have been a lot worse,” Stonum said.
Yellow smoke curled from the house as firefighters worked to put out spot fires and keep the fire isolated to the single structure. Two nearby homes were threatened by embers blowing in the wind.
The couple who owns the home, but do not live in it, embraced as they watched the 3,500-square-foot structure burn to the ground. According to fire officials, the structure was a machine shop with an apartment on the second floor. The owners live two homes away.
The house in unincorporated Morgan Hill is located about six miles southeast of the area of the 2002 Croy Road Fire that charred about 3,200 acres of unincorporated Gilroy, destroying 34 homes and costing $8.8 million to extinguish.
A full wildland response of six engines, two bulldozers, one helicopter out of Los Gatos, one air attack and two air tankers from Hollister arrived on scene. A CDF helicopter dropped 350 gallons of water on the fire, refilling in the Uvas Reservoir, which was visible from the home’s driveway.
“During the fire season if we have any type of fire in a wilderness area we send a full wildland response from the immediate call,” Stonum explained. That way the fire can be contained and not overwhelm the firefighters first on scene who may request additional resources.
The house was surrounded by oak trees, which fire officials say helped prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes. Firefighters wetted the grass areas nearby to stop spot fires. Nevertheless, two small patches of grass ignited in 40-by-40 and 5-by-5-foot grassland areas about 400 feet away.
Air tankers made four drops around the perimeter of the fire to soak the grasses and surrounding trees with water, helping to enclose the fire. By 11:05am it was contained.
The roof and deck collapsed, and the stone front steps out front was the only portion still in tact when the smoke cleared. A metal balcony lay tangled in the trees and warped from the heat.
Good fire prevention by the homeowners and neighbors prevented the fire from spreading to nearby residences, fire officials said.
“This entire property was very fire safe,” Stonum said. “Embers will find a receptive fuel bed and many times that will be a rooftop.”
The fire marks the second significant blaze in three days that South County firefighters have battled since the start if the summer June 21.
In the hot dry months, any spark from a vehicle, lawnmower, or machinery can ignite the grass and start a fire with a heavy fuel load, fire officials said.
And as temperatures rise and wood dries out this summer, houses are especially vulnerable to going up in flames if there are electrical problems.
“When they burn, they just pop.” Stonum explained.
Since the official start of fire season June 12, CDF has had about five 300-acre fires, one 1,400-acre fire and a dozen or so five-acre fires throughout the state.
This is the first major fire for the South County Unit and fire officials believe South County residents should use this fire as a warning.
