Firefighters spent nearly three hours clearing a
one-and-a-half-acre wildfire that burned near several homes Sunday
afternoon.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Firefighters spent nearly three hours clearing a one-and-a-half-acre wildfire that burned near several homes Sunday afternoon.
The fire started about 11:30am on the south side of Hecker Pass Highway, roughly four miles west of Gilroy near Whitehurst Road. A resident of the area was mowing weeds and sparked the blaze, probably when a mower blade struck a rock, said Derek Witmer, battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry/Santa Clara County fire.
Because the landscape is covered in grass and some brush, with bigger fuel such as trees nearby, five CDF engines responded, along with two South County Fire engines, and air support from Hollister.
“We had a little bit of wind, and it’s just the time of year that if the winds had picked up, there were a couple structures in the area we were worried about those,” Witmer said.
A 30-foot spot fire ignited across the highway, as well. Air tankers dumped two loads of fire retardant while crews fought the fire from the ground.
Firefighters extinguished the flames in about an hour, but stayed on the scene to watch for any hot spots, Witmer said.
“In September and October, when fuel is at its driest and humidity is at its lowest, we have a huge concern,” he said. “It’s a critical time of year in South County.”
Witmer reminded residents in hillside and wildland areas that mowing is critical to preventing the spread of fires, but that the resident in this case had “good intentions, wrong time of day.”
“Mowing should be done first thing in the morning – early in the morning when temperatures are lower and humidity is higher,” he said.
Hecker Pass was closed between Sprig Lake and Watsonville Road for about an hour while firefighters fought the blaze.
Little traffic was interrupted, because Caltrans has already closed the highway for road repairs past Summit Road to traffic to and from Watsonville.
