Investigators seek tips after fireworks ignite fires in Sacramento and Placer County
Investigators are seeking information about two grass fires that were caused by fireworks on Thursday, including a blaze that spread quickly and damaged a Sacramento home in the South Natomas neighborhood.
A few hours after the South Natomas fire was under control, fireworks on Thursday night sparked a blaze that burned about 5 acres along Sierra College Boulevard near English Colony Way at the overlook in Placer County.
Cal Fire officials on Friday released photos of people wanted for questioning in connection with the Placer County grass fire.
The people wanted for questioning were seen in the area trying to put out the fire, then left in vehicles that sped away before police and firefighters arrived, according to the Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit. They left in three pickups, described as lifted 4x4s, that all had American flags mounted in the bed, Cal Fire officials said.
Aerial fireworks are illegal to use and continue to put communities at risk, according to Cal Fire officials said.
The South Natomas fire was reported shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday near the 2800 block of Wiese Avenue, on the Niños Parkway bike path. The two-alarm fire that burned about 5 acres threatened nearby homes, according to the Sacramento Fire Department.
The flames that damaged one nearby home burned reached its exterior and attic space. But the flames did not reach the home’s living space, and one resident was escorted out, fire officials said in a social media post.
No injuries were reported. Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, the Sacramento Fire Department announced that fire investigators had confirmed the fire in South Natomas was ignited by fireworks.
There were more than six times more fireworks complaints the Sacramento Police Department received this June compared to June 2019, according to data The Sacramento Bee received from a California Public Records Act request.
It’s illegal to shoot off fireworks in the city, except those with the state’s “safe and sane” seal, and only from June 28 to July 5 each year, according to the city code.
Cal Fire officials asked anyone who can identify the people or the vehicles seen near the Placer County fire to call 530-889-0111.
The Sacramento Fire Department asked anyone with information about the South Natomas fire to call its arson tip line at 916-808-8732 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at 916-443-4357.
