Vegetation Fire Erupts Near School District Offices

Fire crews douse the bushes and trees burned by a vegetation fire Wednesday in Natomas. / Photo NatomasBuzz.com

BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

Firefighters extinguish flames close to the building which houses the school district’s main kitchen. / Photo NatomasBuzz.com

Quick action by Natomas Unified School District employees helped put out a fast-moving vegetation fire Wednesday afternoon.

At about 4:39 p.m. on July 1, the Sacramento Fire Department received a report of a vegetation fire near 1931 Arena Boulevard, just east of the East Drainage Canal.

School district employees said they were exiting the building when they saw a bush engulfed in flames in an area between Arena Boulevard and the district parking lot. They went back into the building to call 911 and report the fire.

When workers returned outside, they discovered that sparks from the fire had jumped the parking lot and were burning wood bark in the flower beds next to the building along with trees and other foliage. They used fire extinguishers on the areas burning closest to the building until firefighters arrived to the scene.

Firefighters arrived within minutes and quickly extinguished the flames which had also spread from the bush to a nearby tree and caused overhead power lines to spark. Fire crews remained on the scene until a SMUD representative arrived at about 5:15 p.m. to check the power lines and examine a power box located near where the fire originated.

The battalion chief on scene said the cause of the fire was not known.

Officials on scene could only speculate the cause of the fire which started near this bush. School district employees look on as firefighter mop up the scene. / Photo NatomasBuzz.com