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Fire Burns Along Business 80 In Sacramento Overnight

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Arson investigators are searching through dry grass and berry bushes trying to determine who started a brush fire near Business 80 in Sacramento overnight.

"The big hazard for us was putting people on the freeway. We're right on the Business 80 curve right here before you get up to Cal Expo and traffic continued to fly by," said Sacramento Fire Department Asst. Chief Niko King.

The fire burned right up to the freeway, sending flames and embers dangerously close to cars.

"If this fire were to happen at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and the winds were doing what they were doing, we would have been chasing this fire on the other side of the freeway and continuing north," said King.

Firefighters say getting to the fire was a challenge.

"It was difficult to access – mainly to get back there," said Sacramento Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Ortiz. "We had to cross the H Street Bridge to get into this area, so it was an access problem along with the fuels. We don't usually have that heavy of fuels burning."

As firefighters worked to contain the fire, they discovered a nearby homeless camp. However, no one was seen in the area of the fire at the time.

"There is signs of cooking; there's a little pots and pans, a lot of debris down there. So it's pretty obvious people were living down there," said King.

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