An electrical short in power lines is being blamed for igniting
a fast-moving brush fire that burned more than 100 acres around the
San Justo Reservoir on Saturday.
”
It was a bit of a fluke. A wire shorted across an insulator,
”
said Battalion Chief Jeff Row with the California Department of
Forestry.
An electrical short in power lines is being blamed for igniting a fast-moving brush fire that burned more than 100 acres around the San Justo Reservoir on Saturday.
“It was a bit of a fluke. A wire shorted across an insulator,” said Battalion Chief Jeff Row with the California Department of Forestry.
Row said that at about 3:50 p.m. the arc in the wires released super-heated materials that fell to the dry brush below and ignited the fire near the base of a hill just east of the McCormick-Selph plant on Union Road.
Fanned by late afternoon winds, the blaze spread quickly across ridge tops in an easterly direction creating huge plumes of light brown smoke that could be seen for miles.
A total of five fire engines, one bulldozer, one air-attack plane, one bomber loaded with flame retardant, two helicopters and two hand crews were called in to battle the fire that blanketed the area in a thick, choking smoke as winds pushed it south.
The smoke was so thick that the California Highway Patrol and San Benito County Sheriff’s Department closed Union Road between Riverside Road and San Juan-Hollister Road because they were concerned that vehicles traveling on that section of the roadway might have problems navigating through the smoke.
The fast-moving fire threatened to destroy four homes as it swept across the ridges of the surrounding hills until CDF and San Benito County Fire units set up defensive positions around the homes making a stand against the flames.
With help from above by repeated drops of water and flame retardant, firefighters forced the flames away from the homes and also saved all of the livestock in the area.
One of the homes saved belonged to former county supervisor Ron Rodrigues, who saw the flames get to within about 50 feet of his home.
“That fire moved pretty quickly. I was near the barn when I saw it first as a little spot down the hill,” Rodrigues said. “By the time I ran up to the house to tell my wife to call the fire department, it had moved pretty far up the hill.”
Rodrigues was not the only homeowner worried about his property. His neighbor, Robin Lowe, also had concerns.
“It was pretty scary,” Lowe said. “I wasn’t so much scared for myself but I have animals up here at my place so I was worried about them.”
Lowe, who heard about the fire from a friend, praised the efforts of the firefighters involved in battling the fire.
“Those guys are great, they really are the best,” she said.
Rodrigues said the area has been the scene of brush fires before.
“But this was the biggest one I’ve ever seen up here,” he said.
Rodrigues said he has always been impressed by the fire department’s performance and response time.
“They were up here pretty quick, just a few minutes after we called, they were here,” he said.
