American River Parkway Fire Sends Smoke Into Sacramento Skies
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A wind-driven grass fire has crews mopping up after it tore through part of the American River Parkway on Friday afternoon.
The biggest concern for the people who work near the fire was the heavy smoke and the ash in the air. Crews are still keeping an eye on hot spots and are trying to figure out what caused it.
A wind-whipped blanket of smoke swallowed up the bike trail along the parkway as relentless, shifting winds forced nearby business owners to pack up and leave.
"It's so smokey out here you have to turn off the air conditioner or else the warehouse draws it in through the vents and everything," said Miller Army Company owner Jordan Miller.
He didn't see any suspicious activity, but he says the area has seen an uptick in the number of homeless camps, some of which have been the source of past fires.
"I know it's been a problem in the past with people camping over in the levee, but today on a day where it's really windy, it's just not a good thing," he said.
As helicopters moved in to knock down the flames, Paul Johnson was wrapping up an afternoon walk with his two young sons. He says the only way he could get home was to walk into the heavy ash and smoke.
"We also want to take this path down because it's like crazy slippery like people are falling down the hill, and I don't want these guys falling down," he said.
While no structures were threatened, the extent of the acres burned is still being determined. Despite fast action by firefighters, officials say the biggest challenge proved to be Mother Nature and access.
"There's a lot of really dense undergrowth back there, like I said, there are some fire roads back there but a lot of times the fire will start in areas that you have to stretch hose lines through some bushes and some really dense undergrowth, so it's hard to get initially to the fire sometimes," said Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Chris Harvey.
