Grass fire grew to 4 acres and threatened Fresno homes, battalion chief says
A grass fire threatened Fresno homes because of high winds Saturday afternoon.
The Fresno Fire Department responded to the grass fire at Chestnut Avenue and the Highway 180 off-ramp.
Fire crews arrived to a grass fire that grew to 4 acres before the blaze was extinguished. There was slight damage to property along the fence line, Fresno Fire Battalion Chief John Creasy said.
Winds gusted to 15 mph at the time of the fire at 3 p.m. Creasy said that “any sort of small storm we have is going to spread exponentially.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Fire crews were seen protecting homes by parking on Thomas Avenue.
“Our No. 1 priority is to protect people’s property and lives,” he said. “We did have the fire run up to some homes to the south, but with the quick actions of initial crews on scene,we were able to protect those structures.”
Six fire engines were called to the scene with 26 firefighters fighting the blaze.
No one was injured, Creasy said.
With July 4 approaching, Creasy gave an important message.
“We want our citizens to be aware of not only the temperature and the fuel beds you’re in, but also the wind direction,” Creasy said. “We don’t want one celebration turning into someone else’s tragedy.”
