Fire Crews Contain 11-Acre Blaze At Rancho Cordova Park
RANCHO CORDOVA (CBS13) - After burning more than 11 acres, firefighters in Rancho Cordova were able to get a handle on a grass fire burning at River Bend Park.
"It's taking off as a very bad fire season," said Sac Metro Battalion Chief Charles Jenkins.
It started as a few acres, but quickly spread.
"We've got a lot of dead fuel loading. We call it timber slash when the timber drops stuff. A lot of stuff here is the natural falling of fuels, tree limbs, branches snags, trees," said Jenkins.
Additional crews were brought out to River Bend Park to fight flames that grew to around 25 acres, according to firefighters.
"We've got some large oaks trees, got cottonwoods. They're already in limbs up into the top of the canopy on some of these trees. So the concern during the day is those fires start waking up, making embers and going over the line," said Jenkins.
Another concern was the wind, which can make the fire fight tricky.
"We're expecting a north, northwest wind and humidity is dropping to about 17 percent," said Jenkins of the conditions.
Sac Metro says California Highway Patrol flew over the scene to give crews on the ground perspective of what they were dealing with.
"This morning we had no idea what we going to come into," Sacramento County Park Rangers Sgt. Randy Lewis said.
But crews did get help in the form of paved roads.
"We have some fire breaks and service roads out here that actually help keep the fire contained," said Lewis.
With not much of a rainy season, crews are out earlier this year battling grass fires.
"We're seeing burning now that typically we would see July-August. We're seeing that in May, potential is pretty high for very bad fire season this year," said Jenkins.
Twenty-three additional fire units had to be called in to help battle the blaze.
The park was also evacuated.
