Wind-swept fire is contained near Sacramento airport. Interstate 5 has been reopened
The Sacramento Fire Department has contained a grass fire that erupted near the airport Tuesday afternoon, which closed traffic on Interstate 5 in the area for about 30 minutes as crews responded.
Fire Department spokesman Capt. Keith Wade said in a final video update posted to social media at 3:30 p.m. that the fire was contained at an estimated 800 acres.
The California Highway Patrol’s North Sacramento Office in social media posts around 2:30 p.m. said northbound I-5 traffic was being diverted to Highway 99, while southbound traffic was being turned around at Airport Boulevard because of the grass fire. Shortly after 3:15 p.m., the CHP said both directions were reopened after threat to the freeway had been mitigated, but that smoke was “still very much in the area” as of that time.
About 100 firefighters responded, and many will stay at the scene for several hours to mop up, Wade said.
The fire sparked in the area of West Elverta and Power Line roads, near Sacramento International Airport and the adjacent Metro Air Park, the department tweeted just before 1 p.m. Over the next 90 minutes, it made a frightening run south toward I-5, spreading rapidly amid intense gusty winds, according to fire department officials.
Wade in a 2:30 p.m. update said crews were “working hard to try to contain and keep it from spreading to the community south of I-5” as they battled wind conditions.
The community just southeast of the I-5 to Highway 99 junction is the Westlake subdivision, which includes a few hundred homes. Wade said evacuations were ultimately not necessary for Westlake.
City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, who represents Sacramento’s Natomas area, tweeted shortly after 3 p.m. that the fire was under control after consuming two structures, which she described in an earlier tweet as “abandoned old homes or farms.” The Fire Department in an update around 3:30 p.m. confirmed it has stopped forward progress.
“It’s fast-moving, fast-spreading and we have several structures that have been impacted by this,” Wade said in an earlier video update around 1:30 p.m. Wade confirmed it as a two-alarm fire.
The fire has burned grass and a handful of structures, including outbuildings, in the fields between Power Line and Lone Tree roads, northwest of the I-5 and Highway 99 junction. The Fire Department tweeted shortly before 2 p.m. that smoke from the fire was drifting across I-5 traffic, affecting visibility in the area.
Northbound Metro Air Parkway, West Elverta Road at Highway 99 and both directions of Power Line Road are closed in the area, the Fire Department said. Drivers are asked to avoid the area.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 1:18 PM.
