Several fire incidents emerge in Sacramento area amid much cooler July 4 weather
The weather was considerably cooler in the Sacramento region for Fourth of July this year, but that didn’t do much to curb the number of fires while the sky was littered with exploding fireworks throughout the evening.
Crews were fairly busy Friday night, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman Capt. Mark Nunez said. The regional dispatch center that takes calls handled by the Sacramento Fire Department, Metro Fire, the Cosumnes Fire Department in Elk Grove, Folsom Fire Department and the Delta area reported 101 grass fires, 14 commercial fires, 16 residential fires, 22 trash fires, 15 tree fires and 112 other types of fire-related calls (such as smoke investigations, visible fires and shrubbery fires) from Friday through 6 a.m. Saturday, according to Nunez said.
That number is preliminary, and a report to dispatch does not necessarily mean an incident was confirmed or handled by Sacramento-area fire agencies.
Metro Fire did not immediately provide an exact comparison for the volume calls to dispatch for the same window in from 2024, when downtown Sacramento reached a high of 109 degrees, but did say there wasn’t a large difference this summer even as temperatures were roughly 25 degrees cooler. The National Weather Service reported a high of 85 degrees downtown on on Friday.
“In general the numbers were very close for the past two years, with this year being a little bit slower,” Nunez said.
Several fire incidents involving or threatening structures were noted by Sacramento-area fire departments.
Along the American River Parkway in Gold River, a fire near Bridge Street and Sunrise Boulevard burned 4 acres and will require tree removal, according to Metro Fire.
Two reported fires in the south Sacramento area involving structures also prompted to by Metro Fire. One involved a commercial building on the 7200 block of Reese Road, and another involved two homes on fire in Hardester Drive.
Just before midnight, firefighters responded to a 10-acre vegetation fire in Roseville next to West Park High School, the Roseville Police Department said in a Facebook post. It bordered Bob Doyle Drive, Harden Parkway and Panther Place. Fire crews contained the blaze, preventing any structures from being damaged.
In Folsom, firefighters responded to a tree fire at a home on Kerr Court near Blanche Sprentz Elementary School. Responders determined the fire threatened three homes amid strong winds and required additional resources. It took four trucks and 22 firefighters to put out the fire after it burned a fence and an outbuilding. Investigators suspected the fire was caused by fireworks and are working to determine if they were illegal, the Folsom Fire Department said in a news release.
A firefighter also suffered a minor burn injury while working a two-alarm fire Friday morning near Sacramento International Airport, Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Capt. Justin Sylvia said.
