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Homeowners Blame Untended Lot For Destructive South Sacramento Fire

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Families are picking up the pieces after a grass fire in South Sacramento left some without a home.

It's not uncommon to see open, undeveloped land around the city. For one reason or another, the owner decides not to build. But those lots can turn into dry, open fields and fuel for a fire like the one that hit Sunday.

Gilbert Calderon showed CBS13 the gutted devastation that was once his home.

"You can see it burned out there and more down the attic," he said. "It grew so fast, it got—it overwhelmed the whole neighborhood really."

The blaze broke out on Sunday afternoon in an open field that backs up to homes on Sunnyfield Way. Crews don't know what caused it, yet.

As homes were evacuated, some neighbors tried to help fire crews save their homes with flames creeping closer. A melted hose was no match for the fast-moving flames.

On Monday, the Calderons packed up what they could salvage. Next door, Rajai Kumar's son's home is a total lost, and he's frustrated. He says it's apparent the owners of the lot neglected the land, but had no regard for his family. There was a close call with a fire in the area last year.

"Those people who own the property in the back, they really don't care what's going to happen during this dry season," he said.

According to property records, the piece of now-scorched Earth is owned by a company called Lap Kai Engineering that's headquartered in Hong Kong, China.

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