Sparks from some pipe welding at the Sunnyslope County Water
District building caused a quarter-acre fire in a field close to
Ladd Lane Elementary School on Monday afternoon. The fire, which
erupted in a small field across from the intersection of Sunset
Drive and Southside Road, burned for less than 10 minutes.
Sparks from some pipe welding at the Sunnyslope County Water District building caused a quarter-acre fire in a field close to Ladd Lane Elementary School on Monday afternoon.
The fire, which erupted in a small field across from the intersection of Sunset Drive and Southside Road, burned for less than 10 minutes. Four fire engines were on scene, stopping the fire before it went into a nearby home and building.
There was no damage to nearby buildings, and nobody was hurt in the fire, Calfire Battalion Chief Mark Edria said.
The fire started around 2:30 p.m. but was contained in minutes, shortly before students left for home at nearby Ladd Lane Elementary School. As firefighters fought the blaze, vehicles began to pour into the area to pick up their children.
The small blaze erupted after workers at the nearby Sunnyslope County Water District were welding pipes together, Edria said. Sparks were blown onto the nearby vegetation and quickly caught on fire.
More than 10 firefighers, from the Hollister Fire Department and Calfire, were called to the scene to battle the blaze.
Neighboring homeowners, who wished to remain unnamed, helped the firefighters stop the fire by stomping on the smoldering grass and pouring buckets of water on it.
One of the residents said he heard a loud noise and looked outside and saw the grass beginning to smoke.
Edria warned that the fire could be a precursor to the official fire season, as the grass is starting to dry up.
“We are just getting into it now,” he said. “I hope people realize that the there is a lot of dry vegetation now and they need to be careful.”
