Firefighters contain grass fire in South San Jose
By Anna Tong
Mercury News
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| Elizabeth Cord/Special to the Mercury News |
| A helicopter drops water on a brush fire in the hills in south San Jose. |
A three-alarm fire that burned 25 acres in the Santa Teresa foothills near Cottle Road in South San Jose was contained late Thursday afternoon.
No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, as well as San Jose's police and fire departments, responded to the fire. The first units arrived about 3 p.m., within 10 minutes of the first report of flames, police Sgt. Jan Males said.
San Jose fire spokesman Jose Guerrero said a total of 170 firefighters were on hand, 125 from the state fire department and 45 from the city. A handful remained in the hills Thursday night to stamp out smoldering embers.
Males said that although the cause of the fire has not been determined, a combination the hot afternoon weather and low humidity probably helped ignite it.
``Thankfully, the fire started moving up the hill,'' she said. ``Or the residences might be in danger.''
Fire engines, helicopters, tankers and bulldozers were deployed. The fire had residents living near the foothills out in front of their homes, looking up at the hills uneasily.
Barbara Cunningham, who says she has lived on Felder Drive for 20 years, said fires in the foothills occur every few years.
``It's upsetting,'' she said. ``We always watch the hills and we don't like seeing it on fire. There's been worse fires, though.''
Mercury News Staff Writer Sandra Gonzales contributed to this report.
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