SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Several fires broke out Tuesday across the Sacramento area as hot temperatures, high winds and lots of dry grass created the ideal conditions for grass fires.
“We’re currently over 100 degree temperatures, it’s very hot out here, and this wind is brutal," said Captain Justin Sylvia, public information officer with the Sacramento Fire Department.
One grass fire sent smoke into traffic on I-80 near Watt Avenue. Another fire broke out at a homeless encampment along the railroad tracks just south of Folsom Blvd near Granite Regional Park, interrupting Union Pacific and SacRT rail service for hours.
A vehicle caught on fire and spread to the grassy field next to it, threatening homes on Del Paso Rd in North Natomas. The fire burned more than an acre of grass before crews could stop its forward progress.
And in Citrus Heights, a fire at a three-unit apartment building nearly spread to neighboring homes in the wind.
"One of the challenges that we had was the amount of wind. This fire was pushing very rapidly through the entire structure, and we just had to get ahead of it," said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn.
With more triple-digit heat in the forecast for coming days, fire officials are asking people to stay safe, be prepared and to do things like yard work and mowing early in the morning before the fire danger picks up.
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