Firefighters Halt Progress of Alum Fire in Hills Above San Jose
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A wildfire ignited in the grasslands in the hills above San Jose Saturday, sending a large smoke plume skyward that was visible for miles and bringing crews from Santa Clara County and Cal Fire to battle the blaze.
Cal Fire air support joined dozens of firefighters who managed to halt forward progress of the 30-acre fire shortly after noon
Fire officials said the Alum Fire was burning at the top of a hillside near Mount Hamilton Rd. and Crothers Rd. -- east of the San Jose Country Club and south of Alum Rock Park.
"Forward progress of the fire has been stopped. All fixed wing aircraft have been released and reported to be 30 acres," San Jose fire officials tweeted.
#Alumfire [update] at Corthers Rd, San Jose (Santa Clara County) Forward progress of the fire has been stopped. All fixed wing aircraft have been released and reported to be 30 acres. @SJFD pic.twitter.com/E9buyrDDnj
— CAL FIRE SCU (@calfireSCU) July 11, 2020
The National Weather Service tweeted that blaze was burning so intensely it had generated enough heat to trigger an alert from a GOES satellite orbiting over the West Coast.