SAN JOSE
– A fire near highways 101 and 85 in South San Jose erupted just
before 5 p.m. Thursday, burning more than 435 acres and threatening
a residential subdivision before it was brought under control.
SAN JOSE – A fire near highways 101 and 85 in South San Jose erupted just before 5 p.m. Thursday, burning more than 435 acres and threatening a residential subdivision before it was brought under control.
Firefighters from throughout the Bay Area were called in to assist in combating the wind-driven flames that quickly consumed grass and brush in rolling hills east of U.S. 101 and north of Metcalf Road. Fire engines lined Metcalf, which was closed to stop the fire from spreading further south.
Smoke from the blaze created a gray haze that reached into San Benito County. The winds were estimated at 14 to 20 mph.
Crews were still on the scene early this morning, mopping up and extinguishing hot spots.
Engines from San Jose, California Department of Forestry and South County Fire Department along with air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers. Approximately 20 fire engines, most with three-man crews, were on the fire lines.
Air tankers made numerous drops of fire retardant until they were grounded because of darkness.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Homes in South San Jose were briefly threatened, but none burned.
Drivers watching the smoke and flames slowed the southbound commute traffic along 101.
During the same time period, firefighters doused a small blaze off Pacheco Pass Highway in the vicinity of Dinosaur Point.
Statewide, a fast-moving fire threatened two rural communities in the Angeles National Forest, as firefighters elsewhere made big gains against blazes that have charred about 23,000 acres of brushland and forest this week.
The fire in Pine Canyon, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles, grew to nearly 9,000 acres and burned at least one motor home and another structure, said U.S. Forest Service information officer Ed Gililland.
Containment was put at 47 percent. “It was a tough night,” Gililland said.
Almost 600 homes in Lake Hughes and Elizabeth Lake have been evacuated, and more evacuations were likely, he said.
