Caltrans Working Feverishly To Clear Brush, Dead Trees Near Roadways
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Fire fears are spreading statewide with firefighters concerned a small grass fire like Monday's Discovery Park blaze could quickly grow out of control.
Caltrans crews are working as quickly as possible to clear brush to prevent blazes like the one allegedly intentionally set by a homeless man on Monday.
That fire spread quickly, blowing smoke over Interstate 5, bringing Memorial Day traffic to a halt.
Steve Nelson with Caltrans says our local district is a large one that covers 11 counties. He says crews are working at a feverish pace to get weeds and brush cleared, as they were doing on Tuesday on Highway 99 outside of Sacramento.
"We've had crews up in the high country come down to try to help these guys out in the valley, right now just to get to as many spots as we can," he said.
But he admits, with more than 4,000 lane miles the district covers, it's an uphill battle to clear all of the fire fuel.
Even harder is taking down all of the dead trees like ones off of Highway 50 outside of Tahoe Park. Nelson says their tree unit was first tasked with removing trees in the high country, where widespread fire is more of a concern.
California Highway Patrol officer Michael Bradley says officers across the state are on the lookout for illegal homeless camps where someone may be cooking or smoking along the highways.
They're also ready to hand out tickets to anyone who tosses a cigarette out the window.
"Cars have ashtrays that's why they are there to be used, they are not coin trays," he said.
That flick of a cigarette can be a $500 fine.