Firefighters were busy Sunday with frequent grass fires, including calls in Orangevale, Wilton and Sacramento.
Details on the fires were not immediately available.
But one fire official said a fire near North B Street north of downtown Sacramento was near a homeless encampment and that responding to numerous grass fires is not uncommon in summer.
At the Sacramento Fire Department, Assistant Chief Niko King said the department in the coming days will be preparing for the traditional stream of fireworks-related calls for Independence Day celebrations.
He urged parents not to let their children light fireworks and to ensure that the materials are properly discarded after use.
King suggested drenching used fireworks in a bucket of water and discarding the remnants the next day.
Those who toss them hot into a waste can may be asking for trouble, since these are often stored under a home's eaves, next to a fence or near dry grasses.
In 2005, an Orangevale family narrowly escaped injury following their July Fourth celebration after they had gone to bed. Their improperly discarded fireworks melted through a rubber trash can and ignited the home, causing about $120,000 in structural and property damage.
Two passers-by saw the fire about 12:30 a.m. One dialed 911, and the other pounded on the home's locked screen door for about five minutes, finally waking the occupants, who escaped just after the fire invaded the attic.
King said because of budget cuts, the department usually has three companies a day that are not operating.
But he said the department will bring those companies on duty on Tuesday and Wednesday, adding a dozen firefighters to respond to calls.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Loretta Kalb
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.