SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif — About 540 acres were burned due to a grass fire near Sloughhouse in Sacramento County early Monday, according to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.
What started as a car fire, grew into a grass fire as the aftermath of Tropical Storm Hilary brought strong winds to Northern California. Rain helped knock down the fire.
The fire started near Florin Road and Eagles Nest Road, then jumped to Jackson Road and Excelsior Road.
Capt. Parker Wilbourn with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said they ordered a lot of resources on this fire, knowing the potential threat.
"We had a fire that was moving with extreme wildfire conditions with this wind. We had gusts probably upwards of 30 to 50 mph gusts at one point. Now that is a significant challenge for our crews because we get wind shifts. Now we had multiple flanks, so this fire was spreading in different fingers — it was also throwing spots and that was basically starting fires ahead of where it was going."
Wilbourn said if they hadn't been able to contain the fire, homes could have been lost. No damages or injuries have been reported in the fire.
WILDFIRE PREPS
According to Cal Fire, the 2022 fire season was quieter than previous years, but there were still several significant fires. January 2022 saw just one major incident with the Colorado Fire in Monterey County burning 687 acres. Fires picked up in May when the Lost Lake Fire burned through 5,856 acres. The largest fire in 2022, the Mosquito Fire, started in early September. It burned through more than 76,000 acres in El Dorado and Placer counties.
Overall, 331,360 acres burned in 2022 from 7,477 wildfires — well below the five-year average of 2.3 million acres. Over 870 structures were affected and nine people were killed, all civilians.
If you live in a wildfire-prone zone, Cal Fire suggests creating a defensible space around your home. Defensible space is an area around a building in which vegetation and other debris are completely cleared. At least 100 feet is recommended.
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