Fire threatens Rio Linda neighborhood; 4 outbuildings, multiple vehicles destroyed
RIO LINDA -- A fire scorched four acres in Rio Linda Sunday afternoon. The blaze broke out around 3:30 p.m. off G and I streets.
Sac Metro Fire was able to prevent any homes from burning, but the fire destroyed four outbuildings and several vehicles.
Judy Trott lives directly across from the lot that had some of the greatest damage. She said she heard several explosions feet away from her home before she started to feel everything heating up.
"My donkeys were freaking out," said Trott. "My dogs were freaking out."
She rushed to safety and sat nearby on G St. with other neighbors as fire crews attacked the flames.
Aerials from Sac Metro Fire showed thick black smoke filling the sky and Drone 13 captured the destruction the fire left behind.
"There were chicken coops that were burning," said Tom Koscielny with Sac Metro Fire. "There was grass that was burning and a lot of other debris."
Koscielny with Sac Metro Fire said the flames engulfed four outbuildings and torched multiple vehicles adding fuel to the fire.
"It was within feet of some of these homes," said Koscielny.
He said the most challenging part was accessing the area because of how narrow the roads are.
"We had so many people driving up and down this street," said Trott. "First responders couldn't get here."
Trott was frustrated by looky-loos that filled this narrow Rio Linda road which made it that much harder for fire crews to get back there.
Evacuees had just moments to grab their pets and livestock.
There was a lot of heavy clean-up for the four-acre fire fueled by all kinds of debris. It was too close for comfort the small rural community.
"I don't know what they had back there," Trott said. "That's for the officers to find out."
She said this is not the first fire that has burned in the area before. Sac Metro Fire could not confirm this.
The cause of Sunday's fire is still under investigation.