Welding on dry grass caused 35-acre wildfire in Yuba County, Cal Fire says
A grass fire in Northern California that scorched close to three dozen acres on Wednesday was caused by welding, according to Cal Fire officials.
The Quail Fire, which burned about 35 acres near Quail Run Avenue near Browns Valley and Loma Rica, was fully contained by Wednesday evening and its final size mapped at 35 acres, Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit reported.
Investigators determined the case of the fire to be “grinding and welding of metal fencing on dry grass,” Cal Fire wrote in a social media post.
Sheriff’s officials in Yuba County had issued an evacuation warning in the Browns Valley area early Wednesday afternoon, but fire personnel said a short time later that crews had made good progress and no structures were threatened, and warnings were lifted within a few hours.
“No evacuations, no structures threatened, no injuries reported,” Cal Fire NEU tweeted.
Air resources and bulldozers were deployed to fight the blaze, Cal Fire said.
This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 1:37 PM.
