Sacto 9-1-1

Three people, including and a husband and wife from Elk Grove, have been arrested in connection with arson at a Lodi market in October.

Following a joint investigation by the Lodi Police and Fire departments, arrest warrants were issued for Prem Basuta, 47, and his wife, Kulwinder "Kelly" Basuta, 48, of Elk Grove, and brother Gurmail "Gary" Singh, 55, of Lodi. They are suspected of being responsible for a fire that damaged Salisbury's Market at 2401 W.Turner Road on Oct. 15, 2011, according to a Lodi Police Department news release.

The Basutas and Singh turned themselves in to the San Joaquin County Superior Court on Wednesday, officials said. They are to appear in court June 12 to answer to charges that include insurance fraud, attempted grand theft and arson.

The 2012 "fire season" will officially begin at 8 a.m. Monday, and fire officials urge residents, especially those living or recreating in rural areas, to use caution as the state enters a period of increased risk for wildfires.

The state's final snow survey May 1 found the statewide snowpack water content is only 40 percent of normal. From January though April, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection crews responded to more than 800 wildfires, nearly two and a half times the approximately 300 the agency responded to during the same period in 2011. This year's number also exceeds the five-year average of more than 600 wildfires for January through April, said Terri Mizuhara, spokeswoman for Cal Fire's Amador-El Dorado Unit.

So far this this month, she said, Cal Fire crews have responded to numerous small fires. Several in Amador and El Dorado counties have been escaped debris fires, Mizuhara said.

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies are continuing their search today for two vehicles associated with the discovery of man's body after a fire in an Arden-Arcade apartment Sunday.

They also seek to narrow the time frame for when 60-year-old Stephen Sieck was killed, authorities said.

Sieck was found dead Sunday afternoon after firefighters arrived to extinguish a blaze at his Shelby Ranch Road apartment. Authorities initially described his death as suspicious but later classified it as a homicide.

A judge today sentenced an Oak Park man who blew up his next door neighbor's house and nearly killed four firefighters to 17 years in prison.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Marjorie Koller said Robert William Durst's "vile act" stamped him as a "serious danger to society." She further characterized the 46-year-old defendant's suggestion to investigators that the four firefighters were responsible for their own injuries as "despicable."

Jurors last month found Durst guilty of arson for the 9:47 a.m. blast on July 5, 2010, that injured the firefighters who were responding to a report of a heavy gas leak on 25th Avenue. They also convicted him of two theft-related charges on items stolen from the house he destroyed, as well as being an ex-con in possession of a firearm.

By Matt Weiser
mweiser@sacbee.com

Police and fire officials are jointly investigating a suspicious death that occurred Sunday in connection with an apartment fire in Sacramento's Arden neighborhood.

The incident began at about 5 p.m. Sunday when Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District units were called to a fire at the Selby Ranch Apartments near the intersection of Watt Avenue and American River Drive. Upon arrival, they found that the fire had already extinguished itself, and the damage was limited to a single apartment.

But in that apartment, they found the burned body of a male adult.

"There is no obvious cause of the fire, and it's unknown whether or not this person died as a result of the fire or by some other means," said Sacramento County Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

Several homes were threatened by a grass fire that burned into a eucalyptus grove in an area south of Wilton, off Clay Station Road, late this afternoon.

Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said that as of about 7 p.m., the fire had burned about 10 acres, but it was no longer advancing. He said firefighters would be on scene for several hours mopping up hot spots.

The fire burned to the edge of one residential property, and Berlant said the home was spared because of excellent defensible space.

A two-alarm fire reported this evening caused extensive smoke damage to a Western Dental building in the Florin area.

Assistant Chief Niko King of the Sacramento Fire Department said the fire started and was largely confined to a treatment room on the first floor of the two-story building at 4401 Florin Road, just east of Franklin Boulevard. He said the room was on the west side of the building and the fire burned largely in the area of a dental chair and surrounding equipment.

King said about 55 firefighters responded to the call and were able to contain the fire within about 10 minutes. But he said much of the building suffered smoke damage.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A free community safety event in Rancho Cordova on Saturday will bring together first responders and others.
The "Proven Insurance Services Community Safety Saturday" occurs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Proven Insurance headquarters, 2721 Citrus Road. Among the activities scheduled at the event sponsored by Capital Insurance Group:
- KlassKids Foundation will provide digital photo ID and fingerprint kits for children.
- The California Highway Patrol will operate a child safety/booster seat inspection station.
- Sacramento Police Department volunteers will provide safety information.
- Sacramento Metro Fire Department will bring along a fire engine.
- The California Department of Boating and Waterways will be encouraging safe boating practices with educational materials and by raffling off 30 life jackets.
- The American Red Cross will provide information on flood and earthquake preparedness and other information.
A raffle will be conducted at the end of the event with prizes such as a solar flashlight, emergency radio and a roadside emergency kit. In addition, four grand prize winners will be chosen to receive a Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch.

Sacramento fire officials have released the name of the firefighter who may be drowned at a Yuba County lake.

He was identified as William Porter, 58, a firefighter at Oak Park's Station 6. Porter joined the department in 2002 and his current job at the Oak Park station, one of the department's busiest firehouses, is driving the fire engine.

Porter also played a role with an urban search and rescue team as a logistics manager and transportation specialist. Previously, he was deployed to help out in the wake of Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Gustav, both in 2008.

Porter was reported missing when he didn't return from a fishing trip at Camp Far West Reservoir in Yuba County on Wednesday night. Yuba County and Placer County sheriff's personnel performed a land search.

A search on the water was conducted on Thursday. The search resumed today.

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By Allen Pierleoni
apierleoni@sacbee.com

Woodland police found evidence of arson when they responded Saturday morning to a report of vandalism at the Woodland City Library.

The fire damage was "contained to a specific area and was not significant," said Woodland Police Sergeant Frank Ritter in an emailed news release. "However," he added, "the crime is a felony."

On the phone, Ritter declined to give more details of the crime, saying the department "does not wish to jeopardize our investigation."

The Woodland police Department is asking anyone who has relevant information to call (530) 666-2411 or (530) 661-7800. Callers can remain anonymous.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Robert William Durst of arson and five other felony counts for the July 5, 2010, Oak Park arson fire of his next-door neighbor's house in which four Sacramento firefighters were seriously hurt.

Jurors deliberated for less than a day before coming back with the verdict. Judge Marjorie Koller scheduled Durst's sentencing for May 24. The 46-year-old defendant is facing a maximum term of more than 20 years, his lawyer said.

After the verdict, Durst had to be restrained by bailiffs when they stood him up to handcuff him. After shouting at his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Richard Cohen, Durst said the verdict was "unfair," the product of what he characterized as "a kangaroo court."

Police have released new information about last week's massive manhunt that began in West Sacramento and ended with the fatal shooting of the suspect in Sacramento County.

Among the newly released details is the fact that authorities found out during the course of their search Friday that the suspect, later identified as 38-year-old Jimmy Lee Graves, had stolen a high-powered and "extremely dangerous" rifle from the machine shop where the manhunt began, said Sgt. Nathan Steele, spokesman for the West Sacramento Police Department.

The Remington Model 700 rifle is the same used by most police snipers, Steele said, and has a reach of more than 400 yards. It is a legal weapon often used for hunting.

This being the week in which dispatchers are recognized for their good work, the California Highway Patrol provides these tips on calling 911:

• No matter what, stay calm.

• Be prepared to give your name, phone number, address or location and a detailed description of the incident.

Firefighters on Saturday will return to the scene of a fatal mobile home fire to make sure that residents of a North Highlands mobile home park have functioning smoke alarms.

Firefighters with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District arrived at the mobile home park in the 4100 block of Minuteman Lane shortly before 7:30 a.m. last Saturday to find a mobile home fully engulfed in fire. During a search, they found that a man had died in the fire. He was identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as William Clay Cowgill, 59.

Fire investigators determined that the fire was accidental and found no evidence of a working smoke alarm, according to a fire district news release.

Four Sacramento city firefighters testified today about smelling heavy gas and then being blown off their feet by an explosion prosecutors say was ignited by an Oak Park man who was upset with a neighbor over a billing dispute.

Three of the four firefighters wound up in the hospital with extensive burns to their hands and face with injuries they described as excruciatingly painful and that took weeks to heal.

"You could smell gas all the way up the street," firefighter Jeffrey Coats testified about the odor he and his fellow crew members whiffed when they drove up to the reported leak in the 3800 block of 25th Avenue the morning of July 5, 2010.

Testimony got under way in Sacramento Superior Court today in the trial of a man who is accused of setting his next door neighbor's house on fire in a suspected case of arson in which four city firefighters were injured.

Robert Durst, 46, is accused of arson, burglary, receiving stolen property and being an ex-con in possession of a gun in the July 5, 2010, fire and explosion on 25th Avenue in Oak Park. Authorities say Durst lit a candle and placed it next to a natural gas valve he had opened to full blast. They said he wanted to destroy the house because he performed some work for its owner but never got paid.

The trial is taking place in front of Judge Marjorie Koller.

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

Dozens of senior residents in the 14-story Park Place Apartments near the state Capitol left their units shortly after a fire broke on the balcony of an 8th floor unit on Easter Sunday, Sacramento City Fire Department officials said.

Two people were treated at the scene for difficulty breathing and did not require hospital attention, City Battalion Chief Marc Bentovoja said.

He said the fire, reported about 1:15 p.m., was confined to the balcony of the 8th-floor unit and was quickly extinguished. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

By Carlos Alcalá

calcala@sacbee.com

One person was reported dead after Sacramento Metropolitan Fire crews extinguished a fire this morning in a mobile home park in North Highlands.

The fire broke out shortly before 7:30 a.m. in the 4100 block of Minuteman Lane, near Interstate 80 and Madison Avenue.

The fire damaged most of the trailer and would have been difficult to survive, fire officials said.

An early morning fire at a vacant Rancho Cordova motel was probably caused by a homeless person, according to investigators.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters responded to the motel at 10271 Folsom Boulevard about 5:30 a.m. When firefighters arrived, four rooms were burning.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze at the motel, the scene of other fires since the First Value Inn closed nearly two years ago.

Arson investigators determined the fire began in a downstairs room on the back side of the complex. A squatter staying in the room likely caused the fire, according to a fire district press release.

An arsonist appears to have set a Woodland resident's pickup on fire this morning.

Michael McDonald, 60, was sleeping at his home in the 200 block of Hays Street when he was awakened by a barking dog about 1:30 a.m. He investigated and discovered his truck, parked on the street, was on fire.

Woodland firefighters arrived and put the fire out. Police officers found a large white bottle of lighter fluid in the street in front of the truck and a blackened rag on the hood.

Evidence will be examined for fingerprints, police said.

Sacramento police arrested a man suspected of trying to ram a fire department ambulance on the highway.

Fire department personnel were called to the 300 block of Graves Avenue about 9 a.m. Sunday in the Strawberry Manor neighborhood for a woman who needed medical aid. When they arrived, the woman's son was belligerent, according to a police department activity log.

Police responded and the fire department ambulance began transporting the mother to the hospital. Police allege that during transport, her son, Johnie Clemon, 30, tried to run into the ambulance on the highway.

A fire this morning that charred the side of a Sheldon High School portable classroom used for detention was caused by an arsonist, fire officials said.

The fire, which was started in a trash can placed next to the portable, was spotted at the high school, 8333 Kingsbridge Drive, about 3:30 a.m. by a garbage truck driver, said principal Paula Duncan.

The garbage truck driver alerted the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District. Fire crews were able to extinguish the fire in 10 minutes.

Fire burned a portion of the wood exterior of one wall., causing $40,000 in damage. An estimated $50,000 in property was saved, according to a fire district press release.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office today has released the name of a woman whose body was found in her fire-damaged South Sacramento home.

The woman was identified as Rosemary Clease, 76, of Sacramento. Her death was listed on the coroner's website as undetermined.

Sacramento Fire Department Assistant Chief Niko King said she was alone in the home when the blaze began about 9 a.m. Wednesday.

King said the fire broke out in the back bedroom of the home in the 4300 block of Turnbridge Drive near Franklin Boulevard and Florin Road. Firefighters knocked down the fire and found the woman dead in the bedroom.

The American Red Cross reports that volunteers are assisting an adult and child who were displaced from their south Sacramento home this morning by a fire in which a relative died.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has not yet released the name of the elderly woman who died. Sacramento Fire Department Assistant Chief Niko King said she was alone in the home when the blaze began.

King said the fire broke out in the back bedroom of the home in the 4300 block of Turnbridge Drive near Franklin Boulevard and Florin Road shortly before 9 a.m. Firefighters knocked down the fire and found the woman dead in the bedroom.

The Red Cross is providing emergency lodging, food and clothing for the family.

By Mark Glover

mglover@sacbee.com

A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in a Saturday evening fire that severely damaged the Natomas home of his parents.

Sacramento police and fire officials have not released the name of the man but said they're looking into the possibility that he set his parents' home ablaze amid a family argument at the residence.

There were no injuries reported in the 6 p.m. blaze in the 3300 block of Parque Way.

The suspect was armed with knives at the scene; he reportedly threatened his parents, perhaps with scissors or one of the knives.

Call The Bee's Mark Glover, (916) 321-1184.

An Auburn police officer drew on his previous experience as a firefighter to rescue a man from a vegetation fire.

Officer Chris Forman was dispatched at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, along with the Auburn Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to a reported vegetation fire on westbound Interstate 80 near the Russell Road exit. Forman was the first person to arrive and he found a man on fire inside the vegetation fire, according to an Auburn Police Department news release.

Forman, who was previously a firefighter, climbed a cyclone fence with a fire extinguisher and knocked down enough of the flames to pull the man out of the fire, officials said. He then called for an ambulance.

The man suffered third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body but was conscious, officials said. He was taken by ambulance to the U.C. Davis Medical Center's burn unit.

The nine-story Capitol Terraces Apartments were evacuated this evening after a fire broke out in a unit on the first floor shortly after 6 p.m.

Assistant Chief Niko King said residents of the building's 108 units at 18th Street and Capitol Avenue had to be brought out through the first floor, leading to fears that numerous residents, many of them elderly or disabled, would suffer smoke inhalation. But he said only one person was taken to the hospital complaining of breathing difficulties, and no other injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Sacramento police say that the person whose burned body was found this morning in Discovery Park was the victim of foul play.

"We are definitely investigating this as a homicide," said Officer Laura Peck, police spokeswoman. The body was set on fire, Peck said.

It will take several days to make a positive identification of the severely burned body that was found by a passing bicyclist. Police say the body was burned beyond recognition, but police believe it may be a woman.

Race and age are not known, police said. It is also not known how she died.

The bicyclist initially thought the smoke he was seeing near the archery range off the Garden Highway was simply burning leaves.

He contacted authorities to put out the fire. Sacramento firefighters arrived and discovered the badly burned body, according to Peck. Police were called at about 6:30 a.m. to investigate.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

Mark C. Anderson, the man who burned up hundreds-of-millions of dollars worth of fine wine in a failed attempt to cover-up his theft of wine, was sentenced Tuesday in Sacramento federal court to 27 years in prison.

Anderson, 63, of Sausalito, was also ordered to pay clients of his wine storage business $70.3 million in restitution. Each victim suffered losses ranging from tens-of-thousands to hundreds-of-thousands of dollars.

As part of a guilty plea he later repudiated and tried unsuccessfully to withdraw, Anderson admitted torching the Wines Central warehouse in Vallejo on Oct. 12, 2005. The wine Anderson stored there for his clients was a small part of the inventory.

A fire in the garage of a home on William Way in Sacramento Sunday evening caused $13,000 in damage.

Twenty-four firefighters responded to the fire, which started in trash near a dryer in the garage, according to Sacramento Metropolitan Fire officials. The fire had been smoldering for hours, and the dryer wasn't on while the homeowners were gone, said Battalion Chief Steve Turner.

"It's important to keep combustibles and trash away from dryers," Turner said.
Nobody was home at the time of the fire. A neighbor called for firefighters after smelling smoke.

The fire caused $8,000 in damage to the structure and a $5,000 loss of personal property.

An early afternoon fire at an apartment complex on Pinata Way in Sacramento displaced three families and damaged all units in a fourplex today.

There were no injuries.

Thirty firefighters responded to the fire, which appeared to have been caused by electrical problems, according to officials of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

Three of the four units were occupied, and the Red Cross was requested to assist the three displaced families.

By Robert D. Dávila
rdavila@sacbee.com

An explosion and fire that ripped through a North Highlands home early this morning were intentionally set, according to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

"We've confirmed it's arson," Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum said.

Crews were called at 2:45 a.m. today to a fire caused by a blast at a house in the 6500 block of Grattan Way, Cockrum said. Firefighters arrived to find flames and thick smoke coming from the house and signs of an explosion outside.

One person has suffered injuries in a fire at a Citrus Heights residence.

Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said firefighters responded to a home at 6564 Greencreek Way shortly before 9 p.m. It was initially reported as a garage fire but appears to have burned into the attic.

Cockrum said the injured person was being treated at the scene as firefighters worked to bring the fire under control.

Fire officials are warning people not to leave candles unattended, citing a structure fire late Wednesday afternoon that sent a resident to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters were called to 7405 Chantilly Lane, in the Florin area, at 6:10 p.m. They found a rear bedroom engulfed in flames and fire extending down the hall, according to a fire department news release.

The homeowner, located outside the house, told firefighters that he was sleeping in the bedroom where the fire started. He suffered minor smoke inhalation and was taken to a hospital

Fire officials are reminding people with medical conditions requiring oxygen therapy to steer clear of fire, whether in the form of burning cigarettes, or open flame from gas stove tops, lighters, matches, candles or wood stoves.

"The oxygen molecules from an oxygen tank literally cling to clothing, hair, bedding, furniture, etc. and can cause a fire to burn faster, hotter and at lower temperatures," Unit Chief Kelly Keenan, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Amador-El Dorado Unit, said in a written statement.

The warning comes following a recent fatal fire in Pollock Pines that officials say may have been started by a individual smoking while on oxygen therapy. One person died and another was injured.

By Brad Branan
bbranan@sacbee.com

The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District board has picked a former district captain to fill a vacant director position.

At its Thursday night meeting, the board of directors selected Jim Newcomer to replace Gregory Granados. Granados moved to Arizona to take a new job.

Sac Metro received 23 applications to fill the spot, and the board interviewed 15 candidates Thursday before tapping Newcomer. He will have a place on the nine-member board at least until the November elections.

He joins a board that has been dominated by former and current firefighters and public employee union members.

Newcomer worked for the district and a department that was merged into the district for 34 years. He retired in December 2007 as a fire captain.

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide in connection with an arson fire earlier this week in El Dorado County.

At about 7 a.m. Wednesday El Dorado County sheriff's deputies responded to a fire in the Mt. Aukum area at a home in the 8200 block of Kirk Lane.

Pioneer District firefighters were already on the scene to extinguish the blaze. A sheriff's department press release said that a deputy's investigation revealed that a house guest at the home is suspected of being responsible for the fire.

Deputies found Amber Nash, 33, in the area and placed her under arrest on suspicion of attempted homicide and arson.

A large metal shop suffered major damage in an early-morning fire today on the outskirts of Woodland.

Fire companies were dispatched to 16604 County Road 98B at about 3:30 a.m. today. When firefighters first arrived on scene, the metal shop was ablaze. Fire did not spread to a nearby unoccupied residence.

Crews attacked one side of the building, first deploying 1,500 feet of fire hose to the nearest hydrant. Two water tenders were also called in to spray water on the other side of the metal shop.

In about an hour, the fire was brought under control, according to a press release from the Woodland Fire Department.

The cause and dollar loss sustained have not been determined.

The head of the California Farm Bureau called on animal rights activists to help authorities identify those behind the burning of cattle trucks at Harris Farms in western Fresno County Sunday.

"We encourage animal welfare organizations to help authorities find those responsible," said Paul Wenger, president of the Sacramento-based farm bureau. "If they sit by silently while animal rightists attack law-abiding businesses, they are passively endorsing domestic terrorism."

Animal rights activists are behind the burning of the cattle trucks, according to a statement by a clearinghouse for activists.

The Fresno Bee reported that a statement released by the clearinghouse

purports to describe how the fire, which heavily damaged 14 tractors and several cattle-hauling trailers, was set.

The statement also says the attack was aimed at "the horrors of factory farming."

A volunteer Oregon House fireman was credited with apprehending a man suspected of arson in Yuba County.

Volunteer firefighter Michael Bernardis was driving on Marysville Road, north of Highway 20, just after 6 p.m. Monday when he saw a man who appeared to be starting grass fires in the area, according to a Yuba County Sheriff's Department news release.

Bernardis approached the man, who swung at Bernardis with a cloth bag that contained several full beer cans. The two fought, but Bernardis was able to subdue the man and make a radio call for assistance, officials said.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire crews are on the scene of a fire in Rio Linda that may be arson.

The fire at 1850 G St. was limited to an RV type trailer out in a field, according to Battalion Chief Charles Jenkins.

"It's a little bit suspicious," Jenkins said, but the cause is still under investigation.

The trailer is a total loss, he said.

Fire officials are investigating the cause of an early morning fire at a mobile home park in Pollock Pines in which a 68-year-old man died and his wife was injured.

The El Dorado County Coroner's Office this afternoon confirmed that the man found dead in the mobile home was John Harlan, said Battalion Chief Mike Pott of the El Dorado County Fire Protection District. He said Harlan's wife, Virginia, was taken to Marshall Medical Center in Placerville, where she was treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns, and released.

Firefighters were called to the Wagon Wheel Mobile Home Park at 24 Hub St. at 12:19 a.m. The mobile home park is across the street from a district fire station. Medics arriving at the Hub Street address reported that fire was visible through the front door and flames were coming out the rear windows of the single-wide mobile home.

A cat revived by Sac Metro firefighters now has 8 lives.

Firefighters were called to a home in the 900 block of La Sierra Drive in Arden Park about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. A bedroom was heavily involved in fire when firefighters arrived.

Fire crews extinguished the fire and searched the home, finding several animals. Two dogs died but a cat was revived after 45 minutes of resuscitation efforts by firefighters.

Also saved were lizard and a rabbit.

Fire investigators believe the cause of the fire was accidental. Damage was estimated at $100,000.

Photo Captions: Top - Firefighters from stations 54 and 105 work to revive a cat that was injured in a fire on La Sierra Drive. Bottom - A firefighter holds O.J. the cat after he was revived Wednesday evening. Photos by Robert Petersen / Special to The Bee.

Although officials have not identified the blue powder found in a mail crate at the Galt Post Office this morning, they said analyses showed it contained no hazardous properties.

Firefighters with the Cosumnes Community Services Fire District responded to a 9:30 a.m. call at the post office on North Lincoln Way and began their investigation.

Deputy Chief John Michelini said a Sacramento County hazardous materials team conducted field tests of the substance and determined that it was not hazardous, although the composition and origin of the powder has not been identified.

Five people were rescued from burning apartments in a complex on Mills Park Drive in Rancho Cordova this evening.

Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said the fire was reported about 7 p.m. in second-story apartments in the approximately 30-unit complex.

When firefighters arrived, he said, a grandmother with three children was on an apartment balcony screaming, "Save my babies. Save my babies." He said a passerby rescued the children, who were handed down from the balcony.

Citing unseasonably dry weather conditions, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is urging the public to be particularly cautious about activities that could spark fires.

The year's first snow survey, conducted Tuesday by the state Department of Water Resources, indicated that statewide water content is at 19 percent of normal, setting the course for one of the driest winters on record, according to a Cal Fire news release.

Although many areas of the state are experiencing cooler temperatures, the drier than normal conditions, coupled with wind and low humidity, frequently increased the fire danger over the past month, officials said, with Cal Fire crews responding to more wildfires than they typically do in December.

Sacramento Metro fire crews were kept busy putting out about 10 fires overnight in the Carmichael and the North Highlands areas.

It appears that about five of the fires in the Carmichael area were intentionally set, said Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum. Most of those were dumpster fires.

Another three or four suspicious or accidental fires erupted in the North Highlands area, said Cockrum. Three of those were dumpster fires.

Sacramento Metro firefighters were kept busy this morning putting out two large fires: one started by a vehicle in a carport and the other possibly Christmas tree-related.

The first fire broke out about 3:20 a.m. in North Highlands in the 7200 block of Pepperwood Knoll Lane. A car in a carport below apartment units was burning when firefighters arrived.

Crews aggressively attacked the fire, confining damage to three units. An estimated $250,000 in damage was sustained.

A man was airlifted to the hospital today with burns on the front of his body after escaping from a mobile home fire in Pollock Pines.

Battalion Chief Mike Pott said that at 9:48 a.m. today the El Dorado County Fire District received the report of a burning residence at the Whispering Pines mobile home park, 6008 Pony Express Trail.

At least half of the single-wide mobile home was on fire when the first engine arrived. Bystanders said that occupants had escaped from the burning residence so firefighters first set about to put the fire out.

A smoky apartment fire erupted this morning in midtown Sacramento, sending occupants of the four-plex into the cold.

The fire began in the kitchen-dinning room area of a downstairs apartment in the 2300 block of Q Street. Aerial trucks were called as a precaution to the fire that did not spread to neighboring units due to quick work by firefighters.

Damage was mostly due to smoke, which filled the entire apartment building, a fire department spokesman said.

Firefighters have contained a fire in an abandoned two-story house in Rancho Cordova.

The fire at 10710 Luella Court was reported about 9 p.m. Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said the house was abandoned and boarded up, but firefighters searched the building for possible squatters. No one was found inside and no injuries were reported.

Cockrum said fire was reported on both the floors of the house. He said an investigator is on scene, but the cause of the fire has not been determined.

Twenty-four firefighters responded.

For holiday travelers who will be staying in hotels or motels, officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Amador-El Dorado Unit offer several fire safety tips.

Statistically, one of every 12 hotels/motels reports a fire each year, according to a Cal Fire news release.

For those staying in lodgings, fire officials recommend:

Sacramento Metro Fire firefighters battled two fires in the past 24 hours where people didn't use proper fire safety, officials said.

In an incident today, 20 firefighters fought a living room blaze that apparently began when the residents of a home on 26th Street in Rio Linda left a fireplace fire unattended.

The fireplace blaze appear to have ignited materials left nearby, said Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum.

Lincoln Fire Chief Dave Whitt will step down Dec. 29, just four months after the successful resolution of a propane train car fire in which he showed his leadership skills.

"Lincoln's recent propane tanker fire revealed to the entire region what those of us in Lincoln already know," said Lincoln Mayor Paul Joiner. "Chief Whitt was the right man, in the right place, at the right time."

Whitt was not the only one who quickly responded to the rail tanker fire last summer. The quick work of a dispatcher and first responders prevented disaster after a rail tanker car filled with 30,000 gallons of propane ignited Aug. 23, prompting the evacuation of homes, businesses and City Hall in the northern part of the city.

However, Mayor Joiner praised Whitt's leadership, experience and his relaxed, straight forward manner for Lincoln avoiding a devastating explosion.

Whitt, 50, has been Lincoln's chief since 2006. Before that, he was a Battalion Chief for the City of Sacramento. Whitt, who said it was time to move on, regretted a lack of resources in a city press release.

"It is time for me to look at other opportunities," Whitt said. "Given the climate in the city, I have come to a point where it is frustrating to not be as effective as I would like to be. We have good people with very little resources to support them in carrying out the mission of this department."

City Manager Jim Estep credited Whitt with a list of accomplishments, including helping with the completion of two new fire stations, improving mutual aid and working relationships with other fire agencies and making sure firefighters have state-of-the art breathing apparatus.

The fire department went from volunteers to a paid 24-hour department in 2001. Since that time, Lincoln has boomed, growing to a population of 41,000 today -- a 236 percent increase.

The city said the number of fire and medical aid calls have more than tripled.

The department has 24 full-time employees and five volunteers. An interim chief will be appointed before Whitt leaves.

A large home in Placer County suffered heavy damage in an early morning fire.

A 911 call about 1:30 p.m. Monday alerted Cal Fire firefighters to the blaze at an approximately 3,500-square-foot house in the 3400 block of Amoruso Way. Firefighters could see flames light up the night sky as they left the firehouse near the Thunder Valley Casino.

Firefighters managed to save about 1,200-square-feet of the structure, which was well-involved in fire when engines arrived. Residents were not home when fire erupted, a Cal Fire spokeswoman said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Wind-driven fires have burned more than 300 acres in El Dorado County and the Eldorado National Forest since Thursday morning, but officials say they are gaining the upper hand as winds taper off today.

"The high winds predicted for today did not occur. Luckily, they were wrong," said Teri Mizuhara, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Amador-El Dorado Unit.

North and northeast wind gusts that neared 75 mph over ridge tops caused fires to spread rapidly in the Pollock Pines, Grizzly Flat and Omo Ranch areas of El Dorado County. Cal Fire crews, along with the U.S. Forest Service and several local fire departments, have been fighting fires that have burned approximately 160 acres. Mizuhara said a house that had been unoccupied for some time and an out building burned in the Omo fire in the Omo Ranch area, but no other structures are threatened.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has been busy today fighting wind-driven fires throughout the foothills.

As of 5 p.m., Cal Fire reported that seven fires had burned more than 130 acres in El Dorado County.

Cal Fire spokesman Dainel Berlant said the largest of the seven had burned 80 acres in a remote section of El Dorado County, off Sciaroni Road in the Grizzly Flat area.

Three Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department squad cars were torched last night in Sonora.

The cars were destroyed, along with a pickup truck, according to Capt. Grant Miller with the Sonora Fire Department.

"It is very suspicious and being considered an arson," said Miller. "It is under investigation. No arrests have been made yet."

Firefighters responded about 3 a.m. to the call regarding the burning vehicles in a patrol office parking lot off of Yaney Avenue. When firefighters arrived the three department vehicles and the pickup were on fire.

Firefighters quickly doused the blazing vehicles with water.

Four adults are without a home following a two-alarm fire in a duplex unit in North Sacramento earlier today.

Battalion Chief Jay Glass of the Sacramento Fire Department said the fire started in the garage of a duplex in the 3200 block of Western Avenue. A car was parked inside.

He said residents of the unit were able to get out of the home before firefighters arrived.

A youngster playing with matches is being blamed for a fire that displaced a family from their Woodland home.

The American Red Cross is providing emergency lodging for the family of two adults and a child after the fire at a home in the 1300 block of Oak Avenue Tuesday.

Woodland Fire Department firefighters responded to the single-story structure about 4:30 p.m. When they arrived, heavy smoke was billowing from the rear of the home.

Crews attacked the blaze and ventilated the attic, bringing the fire under control. Fire damage was contained to a small portion of the attic and a back exterior wall where the fire originated.

No injuries were reported.

Authorities are asking neighbors to watch out for vandals, thieves and arsonists on school campuses during the Thanksgiving break, which for many schools begins today and continues all week.

"Most of our schools are surrounded by homes, and we need those neighbors to join us in protecting these valuable and sometimes vulnerable community centers," said Sacramento Police Lt. Katherine Lester, head of the Sacramento City Unified School District's security services.

The district notes that theft of copper from heating and cooling systems is especially costly to school districts.

Sacramento City Unified security can be called 24 hours a day at (916) 643-7444.

Sacramento Fire Department investigators seek the public's help in identifying the people responsible for a series of fires at a North Sacramento restaurant.

Los Nopales Taqueria, at 2885 Norwood Ave., has been targeted at least three times over a four-month period, according to a Fire Department news release.

The fires were reported at 4:04 a.m. July 15, 2:32 a.m. Sept. 9 and 9:39 a.m. Nov. 4. Fire investigators have determined that two of the fires were deliberately set.

Anyone with information regarding the fires is asked to call the Sacramento Fire Department Arson Tip Line, (916) 808-8732, or Crime Alert, (800) 222-7463, or (916) 443-4357.

The deaths of two women in South Sacramento remains a mystery this morning.

The women, one in her 50s, the other in her 20s, were found dead late Thursday night in a older apartment in the 2900 block of 26th Avenue.

Firefighters first suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, but a test of the premises was negative for the odorless gas. Firefighters called police to the scene and an investigation was conducted through the night.

Patrol officers did not see any trauma to the bodies of the women. Detectives were summoned and they concurred that there was no evidence that pointed to homicide.

However, detectives still want to talk with a citizen who called 911 and left the area. He is wanted by police to shed light on what he saw before calling 911.

"The coroner did not see any signs of trauma so the cause of death is pending an autopsy," said police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Pettit. "We are still not ruling out carbon monoxide."

A fire destroyed a motor home at an Orangevale church Thursday afternoon, according to a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman.

The location, 9129 Central Ave., is listed as the address of Cornerstone Bible Church.

Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum said the fire caused some damage to the back of a portable church building.

The fire was caused by an unattended scented candle fueled by two five-gallon propane tanks, Cockrum said. There were no injuries, but the motor home was a total loss, said Cockrum, who said smoke from the fire could be seen for several miles.

An Elk Grove home caught fire today after a resident fell asleep with a candle burning on her dresser, according to authorities.

That resident, another occupant and their four dogs escaped safely from the fire on the 9500 block of South Coast Lane, according to a news release from the Cosumnes Community Services District. One resident checked for smoke inhalation.

After the resident fell asleep in a bedroom, the candle apparently ignited other materials on the dresser. There was no smoke detector in the room, the release states.

The resident awoke to see flames and tried to extinguish them before dialing 911.

Fire investigators say they can't rule out that a water heater was the cause of the fire at two Citrus Heights busineses on Monday.

The water heater, located in a storage area at the back of the building, could not be eliminated as the cause of the fire that heavily damaged a Tuesday Morning store and the Hoss Lee Salon Academy.

Additional scientific testing needs to be completed to tie down the exact cause. An estimated $2 million in damage was sustained to building and contents.

Lodi has picked a 51-year-old Arizona man to be their next fire chief.

Larry Rooney, a deputy chief for the Peoria, Ariz., Fire Department will be Lodi's next chief if his contract is approved by the City Council on Nov. 16. He succeeds interim chief Dan Haverty, who has served Lodi's fire department since May after the retirement of Kevin Donnelly.

Rooney is scheduled to begin his duties in January. He will be paid $145,000 a year.

Rooney has worked for Peoria since 1984, beginning as a firefighter. He served as president of the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association from 2008-11.

By Cathy Locke and Hudson Sangree
clocke@sacbee.com

Several hours after fire erupted at a Tuesday Morning store in Citrus Heights -- sending up a huge plume of black smoke that could be seen across the region -- firefighters poured thousands of gallons of water on the store's smoldering remains.

At one point late Monday afternoon, the dramatic orange flames and billowing smoke attracted dozens of spectators to the busy Citrus Heights shopping area during the evening commute.

The fire - near Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane - started at about 4:15 p.m., when two clerks and six customers were in the outlet store, fire officials said. All managed to get out and were unharmed, they said. Authorities said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

An "elderly" resident of an apartment near Interstate 80 and Madison Avenue was taken to a hospital after experiencing breathing difficulty while firefighters were battling a blaze at her residence, said Sacramento Metro Fire Asst. Chief Dale Turner.

The fire broke out this morning in one downstairs unit of a four-unit complex at 4612 Ashdale Court and had spread to an upstairs unit and into the attic by the time firefighters arrived.

Residents of all four units will be displaced by fire damage.

The woman taken to the hospital began to experience breathing troubles while firefighters were on scene, probably from smoke and previous medical conditions, Turner said.

Sacramento Fire Department crews are on the scene of a house fire in North Natomas.

The fire is in a home at 5401 Banderas Court and radio communications indicate adjacent homes are being evacuated.

No further details are available at this time.

Smoke rising this morning south of Elk Grove is coming from a barn fire that is expected to burn through the day.

Firefighters were called to a ranch on Carroll Road about 2 a.m. today. Fire companies from the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department were on the scene through the night.

A barn filled with hay burned to the ground. Firefighters are allowing the remaining hay fire to burn itself out.

A body was found Tuesday morning in Rocklin after fire crews extinguished a burning sport utility vehicle. Rocklin Police are investigating the death as suspicious, according to a department news release.

Dispatchers received a report of the SUV on fire about 10:40 a.m. today on West Oaks Boulevard near Lonetree Boulevard.

Firefighters put out the flames in the passenger compartment of the SUV.

Firefighters discovered the bodies of a man and a woman after extinguishing a house fire in Tahoe City.

The fire in the single-story home in the 1700 block of Spruce Avenue was reported at about 1:45 a.m. Tuesday. When firefighters arrived the porch was heavily involved in flames and fire was also burning inside the house.

Light rail trains are operating again at the 29th and R street station after an early morning hazardous material investigation was apparently resolved.

Until about 7 a.m., trains were traveling through the midtown station but passengers were not being allowed to get on or get off the light rail cars. Sacramento Fire Department investigators were called to the scene to examine a suspicious substance.

The situation was apparently cleared about 7:15 a.m. when RT officials said the station was open again for passengers to board and exit trains.

By Cathy Locke and Bill Lindelof
clocke@sacbee.com

Fire investigators have completed their on-site work but have not determined the causes of fires that occurred Thursday in two buildings on the California State University, Sacramento, campus.

Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Friday evening that investigators will study the information gathered from the scene.

Fire officials cleared the fourth floor of Mariposa Hall, where a fire damaged a studio classroom, and turned it over to cleaning crews, which are expected to work through the weekend in hopes the floor can reopen by Monday, said Kim Nava, CSUS spokeswoman. The fourth floor houses interior design and graphics classes.

CalFire investigators returned to Sacramento State today to pin down the cause of three fires that erupted on campus Thursday afternoon.

"We are back out there today to investigate how and where those fires were started," said CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant.

Fire investigators today are looking into origin and cause of a blaze at a Granite Bay home where a man was found dead.

Crews from the South Placer Fire District responded to the fire in the 8100 block of Barton Road around 9 p.m. Sunday, said Fire Chief Tony Corado.

When the first fire units responded, flames were shooting through the roof of the older ranch-style home on a large parcel. Neighbors told firefighters it was not a vacant home, so firefighters advanced into the structure with fire hoses and found the man inside.

A fire that broke out Sunday afternoon at a Folsom home damaged the garage but caused no injuries, officials said.

The Folsom and Sacramento Metropolitan fire departments responded around 3 p.m. to flame reported at a two-story home in the 900 block of Palmer Circle, according to a Folsom Fire Department news release. Crews limited the fire to the garage and contained the blaze within 12 minutes, officials said.

Damage was estimated at $60,000, the statement said. The cause was under investigation Sunday.

By Cynthia Hubert
chubert@sacbee.com

A Woodland woman escaped her burning home without injury Saturday afternoon, fire officials said.

Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting from a rear bedroom in a home on Grand Avenue. One person was home at the time of the fire, but managed to get out safely.

Three fire engines and one ladder truck were used to battle the blaze, which caused about $100,000 in damage, officials said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Sacramento firefighters responded late this afternoon to a report of smoke in a men's restroom on the 11th floor a building at 1325 J St., but they found no fire.

Assistant Chief Niko King said a power outage had occurred in the building about a half hour before firefighters were called. Although no fire was found, King said there was an odor of burning electrical wiring that appeared to be related to the elevators.

He said the power outage may have caused an electrical breaker to burn, producing a small amount of smoke and producing the odor.

Liquor-related arrests were up, drug arrests were down and assaults pretty much held steady last year on UC Davis property compared to the previous year, according a press release from the university.

The annual statistics were prepared for the federal Clery Act.

"UC Davis is a relatively safe campus, but no community of our size is crime-free," said campus Police Chief Annette Spicuzza.

Comparisons between 2010 and 2009:

U.S. Forest Service crews will begin prescribed fire operations Friday near the west end of Ward Canyon on Lake Tahoe's west shore.

The project involves about 2 acres, and the operation may continue through the week, weather and staff permitting.

Residents and visitors can expect to see smoke from the burn area and smoke may be visible on Highway 89, according to a Forest Service news release. Officials said efforts are made to reduce the effect of smoke on community areas.

The wildfire near Ruth, Calif., that started around noon Friday was 80 percent contained as of midday today according to the National Forest Service.

The fire spanned 1,515 acres over Six Rivers and Shasta-Trinity National Forests, requiring 717 fire personnel to address the incident. The cause of the fire, which started in low grass and brush, is still under investigation.

An evacuation order required Ruth residents to leave their homes until the order was lifted 9 a.m. Monday, but County Roads 501 and 504 are still closed, and an emergency forest closure is still in effect at the South Fork Mountain area.

The fire spread slowly because of the recent rainfall. The National Forest Service expects the fire to be fully contained by noon Wednesday.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District personnel have contained an outbuilding fire Wednesday evening at Florin Road and South Watt Avenue.

The department received a call at 6:03 p.m. saying that a fire was blazing in the 1000-square-foot outbuilding and had spread into a half-acre of surrounding wildlands.

The building and wildland fires were contained within 27 minutes of arriving on scene, and the department is continuing to break up and extinguish a trash fire on scene, according to fire district officials.

An eyewitness reported seeing a van drive away from the scene. An arson investigator is on scene, but Assistant Chief Chris Holman said the driver of the van is considered a person of interest, not a suspect.

Investigators have ruled that an early morning fire today in an empty home in Carmichael was the result of arson, Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum of Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said.

When firefighters responded to the fire in the 6500 block of Landis Avenue about 1 a.m., the home's porch area and its attic were well involved with fire, Cockrum said.

Cockrum said investigators found that the fire was started on the porch and that a flammable liquid was used. He said no one was at home during the fire.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton on Thursday rejected the effort of Mark Christian Anderson to withdraw his plea of guilty to torching a Vallejo wine warehouse six years ago.

The arson, allegedly meant to cover up Anderson's embezzlement of wine he was storing for its owners, destroyed more than $200 million of California's best.

In denying Anderson's motion, the judge indicated the evidence that his former attorney's incompetence led to the guilty plea is weak to nonexistent.

Karlton set Dec. 6 for sentencing of Anderson, 62.

By Stephen Magagnini
smagagnini@sacbee.com

The FBI is investigating the pre-dawn arson of an Orangevale dry cleaners - which included offensive graffiti and a swastika - as a hate crime. FBI spokesman Steve Dupre said Wednesday.

The blaze, which broke out at 3:30 a.m. at the Star Dry Cleaners in a strip mall in the 9400 block of Madison Avene, was apparently started by someone who broke in through the plate glass window and ignited a gas can, Dupre said. "I think the sprinkers came on and mitigated some of the damage."

The federal ATF and the Sacramento Sheriff's Department have joined the investigation, Dupre said. The graffiti, painted in black on the wall outside the cleaners, included a swatiska and the words "f--- Arab."

It appears that a bicycling arsonist continues to set fires along the American River Parkway.

Over the weekend, about nine grass fires were set along the bike trail between River Bend Park and Haggin Park. The possible arsonist was a white male with short hair, wearing gray pants and shirt, riding a 10-speed-type bicycle.

This morning, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters were kept busy responding to more brush and grass fires around River Bend Park. Again, a male adult was seen on a bike in the area.

An Elk Grove fire caused by storing paper in a hot water heater closet has prompted a warning from firefighters.

A fire that erupted in a water heater closet in the 9100 block of Nolan Avenue on Friday was luckily extinguished by an activating sprinkler. Firefighters said cardboard boxes, papers and other combustible items had been stored in the closet.

The Cosumnes Fire Department released a reminder to keep material away from the flames of heating devices. Combustible items should be kept at least 3 feet from heat sources, the department said.

Two Carmichael fires have been determined to be unintentional.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials said investigators had not been able to rule our improperly discarded materials left on a deck as the cause of a fire at the Woodbridge Place apartment complex Sunday afternoon, but they concluded that the fire was not deliberately set. Ten apartments in the complex on El Camino Avenue near Walnut Avenue were damaged.

An investigator is trying to determine whether electrical problems may have sparked a fire at a house in the 5800 block of Gibbons Drive this afternoon but concluded that the fire was not arson.

A passerby was credited with helping an elderly woman out of her smoke-filled home in Carmichael Monday afternoon.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters responded to a report of a house fire in the 5800 block of Gibbons Drive about 4:30 p.m. and arrived to find an extensive fire and smoke at the rear of the house, according to a department news release. The attic also was fully involved with fire.

Crews were able to contain the fire within about 20 minutes.

By Brad Branan

bbranan@sacbee.com

A dozen residents were displaced Sunday afternoon when a large fire ripped through their Carmichael apartment complex.

No injuries were reported, but many residents were visibly distraught as they watched crews from the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department extinguish the blaze. The American Red Cross was helping displaced families find shelter.

Sac Metro received a call about the fire on El Camino Avenue, near Walnut Avenue, shortly before 2 p.m., said Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum. The attic of the two-floor complex was engulfed in flames, along with several apartments, he said.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire officials are looking for a person of interest, believed to be connected to nine grass fires set along the American River Parkway today.

The fires, ranging in size from a few feet to a quarter acre, had all been extinguished before 1 p.m.

A fire believed to have been started by a cigarette discarded outside a residence, caused significant damage to a Rancho Cordova home this evening.

Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, said firefighters were called about 6 p.m. to a house in the 2200 block of Green Blossom Court. They arrived to find the attic of the home well involved with fire.

Although firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire, the attic area suffered significant damage.

By Kim Minugh

kminugh@sacbee.com

A 4-year-old boy is presumed to have died in a residential house fire in Pleasant Valley early this morning, according to authorities.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Department received a call about a structure fire and people screaming just before 12:30 a.m. today, according to a news release from spokesman Lt. Bryan Golmitz.

When deputies arrived, people at the scene told them a 4-year-old boy was still inside the burning home, the release states. Firefighters extinguished the fire and found a deceased person inside the residence.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, the release states. No other information has been released.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Lincoln fire and police officials credit the quick work of a dispatcher and first responders with preventing disaster after a rail tanker car filled with 30,000 gallons of propane ignited Aug. 23, prompting the evacuation of homes, businesses and City Hall in the northern part of the city.

Recordings of 911 calls, and police and fire radio traffic during the first few minutes after the fire was reported, were released Friday at a City Hall news conference.

Fire Chief Dave Whitt said the recordings reveal what the lone dispatcher, Teri Leedy, was dealing with as she sought to field 911 calls reporting the fire, while dispatching police and fire units, and summoning aid from surrounding communities.

A well-maintained vehicle can help prevent wildfires, according to state fire officials.

The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Amador-El Dorado Unit reports that several recent fires have been caused by vehicles, citing areas along Highway 50, Bass Lake Road, Gold Hill Road and Cameron Park Drive in El Dorado County. In Amador County, recent fire scars can be seen along highways 49 and 88 and Ridge Road, where vehicles caused strings of wildland fires.

"When a vehicle's engine is not well maintained, the exhaust system can become overtaxed, thereby allowing fuel to enter the exhaust system, which in turn overheats the catalytic convertor that melts and disintegrates," Scott Hogan, fire equipment manager for the Amador-El Dorado Unit said in a written statement. "Pieces of the catalytic converter exit the muffler at about 1,200 degrees F and can bounce onto the dried grass along the edge of road and start fires."

Lincoln Fire Chief Dave Whitt said Monday the cause of a propane tanker rail car fire last week is "undetermined, unable to rule out mechanical failure or human error."

Whitt's preliminary report on the tanker car blaze that resulted in the evacuation of approximately 4,800 homes in the city for two days leaves unanswered why the fire erupted that day.

It could be some time before federal officials release a possible cause. Whitt said he understands that federal investigators with the Federal Railroad Administration want to take the the burned rail car away on a flatbed car to a location where they can closely exam the tanker.

A vegetation fire that started Saturday afternoon in Fairfield and quickly spread out of control consumed more than 800 acres of grass and oak woodlands before being partially contained early today, the California Department of Forestry reported.

Dave Shew, assistant chief for the Forestry Department, reported today that the fire required the aid of more than 15 firefighting agencies, four air tankers, two helicopters and 50 fire engines.

A command post was established on behalf of CalFire, the Suisun Fire District and Fairfield, Shew said. Firefighters achieved 60 percent containment just after midnight this morning, he said.

South Lake Tahoe arson investigators seek the public's help in identifying two people shown on surveillance video running from the area of the Bijou Center at the time of the fire early Thursday morning.

Police and firefighters responded to a report of a fire at the center at 3447 Lake Tahoe Blvd. about 3:45 a.m. They arrived to find a trash can on the outside of the business complex engulfed in flames and saw that the overhang of the building was starting to catch fire, according to a Police Department news release.

A sprinkler system on the outside of the building helped control the fire and kept it from spreading until firefighters were able to extinguish it.

Lincoln Fire Chief Dave Whitt, 50, was the man at the center of the successful resolution of the tanker propane fire this week -- a stubborn fuel fire that had the potential to result in major devastation.

Whitt, the leader of the 24-firefighter department, has been chief since 2006. Before that, he worked fighting wildland fires for the federal government for 6 years and for 18 years was a member of the Sacramento Fire Department.

At Sac City he worked his way up from firefighter to Battalion Chief. For a time, as a fire captain, he was the public information officer for Sacramento City Fire.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Emergency aid workers in Lincoln endeavored tonight to help not only people displaced from their homes due to the burning propane tanker but their pets as well.

Noah's Wish set up an emergency animal shelter at Azevedo Park in Rocklin, but many people arrived at evacuation shelters with their pets in tow.

"People want to stay with their pets," said Trista Jensen, communication director with the American Red Cross, who was assisting at the Lincoln Community Center, one of three evacuation shelters in the city.

By Matt Kawahara

Fire officials have announced that they now believe the tanker car burning in Lincoln since Tuesday is virtually empty of liquid propane, and that they may be able to render it inert before midnight.

Flames from the top of the car died down around 9 p.m., leading firefighters to run tests attempting to determine how much propane was left in the car, said Lincoln Fire Chief Dave Whitt. They are now pumping the rail car full of water and aqueous foam in an attempt to force out any residual liquid and propane vapors, said Whitt.

"As the tank fills up with foam and water, it's pushing the residual vapors outside the tank," he said. "So we re-lit the fire again and as the tank fills up it'll continue to burn off the residual vapors. We should have a stable tank once that foam ... fills up that tank."

Rocklin police today need help in finding for three young men who were seen fleeing from the site of a playground structure fire.

Rocklin police and the Rocklin Fire Department were called about 3 a.m. Sunday to a playground at Sunset East Park on Willowynd Drive. A witness reported seeing three white males in their late teens or early 20s fleeing the area around the time of the fire.

The suspects were dressed in t-shirts and shorts. They were seen getting into a dark green, late 1990s compact car.

The park playground equipment sustained more than $6,000 in damage. Anyone with information is asked to call Rocklin police at (916) 625-5400.

A man in his 20s was severely burned Friday after gasoline ignited in a garage during auto repair work, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District reported.

The fire started accidentally when the gas spilled on a hot surface.

Arriving fire units reported flames of 50 feet.

Sacramento Metro firefighters were busy this morning putting out a garage fire and a blaze at an apartment complex.

The garage fire broke in the 5200 block of Mississippi Bar Road in Orangevale at about 1:30 a.m. When firefighters arrived on scene, flames were visible from the garage.

About two dozen firefighters attacked the blaze, restricting the fire to the garage. An estimated $60,000 worth of structural damage was sustained.

U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews are scheduled to resume prescribed fire operations in the Rubicon Bay area on Lake Tahoe's west shore Wednesday.

The operations, designed to reduce vegetation that could fuel wildland fires, is expected to continue through the week, according to a Forest Service news release. The work is dependent on weather and available staffing.

Residents and visitors can expect to see smoke from the prescribed fire areas and from Highway 89. Fire Service officials said good dispersion of smoke is expected based on the weather forecast. Efforts are made to limit the effect of smoke on community areas.

For more information, go to http://www.fs.usda.gov/ltbmu.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials seek the public's help identifying the people responsible for a series of grass fires in the Rancho Cordova area.

Firefighters have responded to 12 intentionally set fires in the area over the past three weeks, according to a district news release.

Investigators believe the fires are related because of their proximity to one another and their occurrence in the late evening.

Firefighters have contained 60 percent of a wildfire north of Lake Brerryessa off of Berryessa-Knoxville Road.

The road remains closed as firefighters hope to have the fire fully contained by 8 p.m. today, according to the state department of forestry and fire protection.

The fire that began Saturday afternoon remains under investigation. It burned 400 acres.

No structures or evacuations were reported.

CalFire reported that more than 560 personnel fought the blaze including units from Napa and Lake counties, and various state and federal agencies. They worked throughout the night to build a containment line around the fire, and reported little movement and spread overnight.

Firefighters are battling wildland fire that has burned about 100 acres in the area of Smartsville in Yuba County.

Chelsea Fox, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the fire, which is 70 percent contained, is in a sparsely populated area of Chuck Yeager and Waldo roads. She described the terrain as grasslands and rolling hills.

Some road closures are in effect in the area, but no residences are threatened.

Fox said approximately 100 firefighters are on scene, along with five air tankers and two helicopters.

Fire officials are seeking information regarding a series of arson-caused grass fires reported early Wednesday evening in the Rosemont-Lincoln Village area.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews were dispatched to the first of three small grass fires at 6:44 p.m. in the area of Bradshaw and Old Placerville roads. A combined total of approximately a half-acre burned, and all three fires occurred within a quarter-mile and 15 minutes of each other, according to a fire district news release.

Nine fire firefighters responded, and investigators determined that the fires resulted from arson.

Anyone with information that might assist investigators is asked to the district's administrative office at (916) 859-4300.

A firefighter suffered minor burns this morning while fighting a fire at a home in the Arden Arcade area believed to have been caused by an unattended barbecue.

Sacramento Metro and Sacramento City firefighters were dispatched to a house fire in the 2200 block of Tallac Street at 10:48 a.m. and arrived to find a rear patio on fire with flames extending onto the roof and into the attic, according to a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District news release.

As firefighters were attacking the fire, the patio and rear roof collapsed. A Metro firefighter was struck by falling debris and knocked into a swimming pool. Officials said he suffered minor burns and was taken to UC Davis Medical Center for treatment.

View a gallery of images

By Whitney Mountain
wmountain@sacbee.com

Sacramento firefighters battled a fire Wednesday that sent a plume of black smoke high into the sky north of downtown and sent three firefighters to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

The blaze started about 1 p.m. at River City Waste Recyclers in the 700 block of North B St.

Assistant Fire Chief Niko King of the Sacramento Fire Department said firefighters were expected to continue monitoring the site Thursday.

Two cats died in a trailer fire in Woodland this morning.

The residents of the double-wide mobile home at 907 Bourn Drive were able to escaped before the fire swept through their home att about 4 a.m. However, Woodland firefighters were not able to save two cats who died.

The cause of the fire, which caused extensive damage, is under investigation.

Thanks to the public's cooperation, juveniles responsible for a wildland fire Sunday in El Dorado Hills have been identified, authorities say.

Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Amador-El Dorado Unit, in conjunction with the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, were able to identify the two youths, according to a Cal Fire news release. Investigators will work with the El Dorado County Probation Department, the youths and their families to complete the Juvenile Fire Setter Assessment Program, officials said.

The youths were not named because of their age.

The city of Sacramento is all out of free carbon monoxide alarms.

The City Council and First Alert joined to provide 300 of the detectors. Residents emailed the city's call center Thursday, and the detectors were quickly given out.

Interested residents were sent this message inquiring about any remaining alarms:

"If your message to the city of Sacramento was in regard to a recent offer for a free carbon monoxide detector, this is to inform you that the 300 detectors that were made available by the Sacramento Fire Department and the Sacramento City Council have all been given out. We had an overwhelmingly positive response to this offer and regret that we had a limited number to distribute."

Sacramento residents can get a carbon monoxide alarm for free.

City councilmembers and First Alert have joined together to provide 300 of the detectors. City residents may request one of the devices by e-mailing 311@cityofsacramento.org.

The Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010 requires the installation of an alarm in every residence in California with a fossil-fuel-burning appliance, fireplace or attached garage. Carbon monoxide gas is odorless, colorless, tasteless and toxic.

The sheriff's bomb squad is responding to Rio Linda after a fire led to the discovery of two potentially explosive devices in a residential garage, according to authorities.

Firefighters responded to the home on the 1000 block of Fallon Woods Way in Rio Linda and found a man who was on fire. After the fire was extinguished, the man was uncooperative and refusing treatment for his injuries, which were not serious, said Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Ramos.

Because of his resistance, firefighters called deputies, who, upon arriving, found two potentially explosive devices in the man's garage, Ramos said. It's not clear whether those devices played a role in the fire, he said.

The Explosive Ordnance Detail is investigating the devices.

A firefighter suffered a minor burn injury while fighting a fire this afternoon at a Foothill Farms apartment complex.

The fire at 4141 Palm Ave, was reported at 5:10 p.m. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews arrived to find a second story balcony on fire with the fire extending into the interior of the unit. Firefighters were able to quickly knock down the fire and confine it to the single unit, according to a district news release.

Officials said one firefighter suffered a small second-degree burn and was transported to a hospital for evaluation.

Thirty firefighters responded to the fire, the cause of which is under investigation.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries this morning during a hazardous materials incident involving pool chemicals at a waste facility in Rancho Cordova.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters responded at 11:15 a.m. to a report of a fire involving hazardous materials in the 11000 block of White Road Road. They arrived to find smoke and fumes coming from a hazardous waste storage area on the site, according to a district news release.

Workers told firefighters that they were repacking dry pool chemicals in a 55-gallon drum and it appeared a chemical reaction occurred, causing a small fire and what they thought was off gassing of the material. Workers said they used a dry chemical fire extinguisher on the fire and thought they had slowed the chemical reaction. They left the area unharmed.

A grass fire ignited by a car that had pulled to the shoulder of Highway 50 burned three acres near the Folsom Auto Mall before fire crews contained it this afternoon, a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman reported.

Firefighters from the Sacramento Metro and Folsom fire departments responded to the area around 12:45 p.m. to find a grass fire in heavy brush with difficult access, fire district spokesman Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum reported.

Though the fire was near the Folsom Auto Mall, it did not threaten any structures, Cockrum said. Crews contained and extinguished the fire within three hours, he said. No injuries were reported.

Arson investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection seek the public's help in locating two youths who were observed leaving the scene of a wildland fire in El Dorado Hills on Sunday afternoon.

The fire occurred about 4 p.m. in the area of Borders Drive and Trieste Way.

The boys were described as white, 13 to 14 years old, with average-length brown or black hair. They were wearing shorts but no shirts, and were carrying skateboards, according to a Cal Fire news release.

Anyone with information about the suspects or the fire is asked to call Capt. Doug Ferro with Cal Fire's Amador-El Dorado Unit at (530) 647-5234.

A three-alarm grass fire that broke out shortly before 6 p.m. in Elk Grove has been contained at 5 acres, a Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department official said.

Crews responding to the call around 5:40 p.m., found an active fire in an open field of grass and trees near Bradshaw and Calvine roads, said Deputy Fire Chief John Michelini.

Nearby homes were threatened for a short period of time, Michelini said. However, crews were able to stop the spread of the fire in that direction before it reached the homes, he said.

A 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with three arson fires that occurred in Sacramento County during a two-week period.

The Galt Police Department on Monday arrested Adam Kelly (pictured), following an investigation by police and the Cosumnnes and Sacramento Metropolitan fire departments.

The first fire occurred July 6 at 10430 Twin Cities Road in Galt. Firefighters responded to the service area of Raley's supermarket and found numerous large pieces of recycled cardboard piled up and set on fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire. No one was injured, and the building sustained minor damage, according to a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District news release.

A small silo fire broke out at the Blue Diamond almond factory in Sacramento early Tuesday morning.

At around 1 a.m., the Sacramento Fire Department arrived at the factory at 1701 C St. after the security guards smelled smoke and determined that it was coming from one of the silos.

Fire crews have contained a 10-acre grass fire that broke out this afternoon near a power substation in Folsom, a Folsom Fire Department spokesman said.

The two-alarm blaze was originally reported as a tree fire at Kennerly Way and Oak Avenue Parkway around 1:10 p.m., said fire department spokesman Capt. Tom Sakaris. When firefighters arrived, they found a working fire in a grassy area near that intersection, Sakaris said.

Crews were positioned to protect a power substation located near the burning area, but the fire did not get close enough to threaten the substation, which is surrounded by asphalt, Sakaris said.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials said their resources were stretched this afternoon as they responded to two grass fires and two structure fires within two hours.

At 4:21 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to a grass fire in the 4300 block of Glenridge Drive in Carmichael. The 1-acre grass fire was in a natural park area and threatened a grove of oleanders. Officials said access to the site was difficult, but the fire was contained with five grass units. No structures were threatened.

Witnesses reported seeing two boys leaving the area just before they noticed the fire, according to a fire district news release, and firefighters said the fire appeared to have started in more than one area.

A boiler room in a Rancho Cordova apartment complex caught on fire Friday morning after someone who the apartment manager says may have been an unlicensed contractor installed a new boiler Thursday.

The Sacramento Metro Fire Department responded to a call at 1:21 a.m. at the Point Knoll Apartments at 10680 Coloma Rd. The firefighters determined that the fire was extending to the attic and roof and quickly extinguished those flames.

The fire damaged four apartment units, causing three families to lose their homes. No one was injured, and the fire department estimates that the damage is around $10,000.

Authorities are investigating the unlicensed contractor as well as the cause of the fire, which the department says appears to be electrical.

Three small fires have been put out after burning along Highway 50 this morning.

Sacramento Metro, Folsom and El Dorado Hills fire personnel responded to several calls about the blazes at about 7:04 a.m., Sac Metro Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum said.

The two fires west of East Bidwell Street were tackled by Sac Metro, and the one east of the street was handled by Folsom and El Dorado Hills crews.

The Roseville Fire Department amended an account of its response to a Wednesday two-alarm house fire following a post-incident analysis Thursday morning, a department official said.

The fire broke out around 12:30 p.m., in the 1800 block of Finch Drive, the department reported. Initial reports were than an elderly woman was trapped by the fire.

When rescue personnel arrived on scene, they found the woman already out of the house, with citizens lifting her over a fence into the front yard, said Jeff Carman, assistant chief of operations for the fire department.

One hundred people were evacuated from a Citrus Heights apartment complex early this morning after an unidentified vehicle backed into a bank of gas meters causing a gas leak.

The vehicle had fled the scene at 7640 Auburn Road when Sacramento Metro Fire responded to a call at about 3 a.m.

The department started evacuating people from their homes, said the Metro Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum.

Pacific Gas & Electric went to the scene and capped the gas meters. The fire department started allowing people back into their homes about 4:45 a.m.

The steps of three mobile homes in Citrus Heights were set on fire by a suspected arsonist early this morning, authorities said.

After responding to a gas leak at a nearby apartment complex that was reported about 3 a.m., witnesses smelled smoke, and the fire department went to investigate its origin on Antelope Road near Auburn Boulevard.

When Sacramento Metro Fire personnel arrived at about 4:50 a.m., police were putting out the flames with fire extinguishers from their vehicles. Sacramento Metro Fire put out the fire and gathered debris samples to be tested for investigative leads, said Metro Fire Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum.

"There's no other way that this could have happened," said Cockrum.

The mobile homes were unoccupied, and Cockrum said there was about $5,000 worth of damage.

Roseville firefighters rescued a woman from her burning home in the 1800 block of Finch Drive earlier this afternoon, the fire department reported.

Fire crews were called to the house fire around 12:39 p.m., and arrived at the scene about five minutes later, said Jeff Carman, assistant chief of operations for the Roseville Fire Department. Initial reports were that an elderly woman was trapped inside and yelling for help.

Firefighters immediately made entered the home and located the woman in the living room, with her exit blocked by flames, Carman said. They removed her from the home.

The Sacramento Fire Department evacuated its building at 5770 Freeport Blvd. at around 11 a.m. Tuesday after a routine generator test malfunctioned, said Captain Niko King.

Dampers that were supposed to automatically close to prevent carbon monoxide exhaust from filling the building failed to shut, exposing employees on the second floor to the toxin.

Sacramento Fire Station 5 responded to the department's call for a hazardous materials team, said King. The Haz-Mat squad ventilated the building and started allowing employees to re-enter the building about 40 minutes after the evacuation.

Several employees demonstrated symptoms of exposure to elevated levels of carbon monoxide, and were treated on-site.

By Hudson Sangree

hsangree@sacbee.com

A fire that started in a trash can at Pioneer Elementary School caused damage to a classroom and restroom Sunday evening, the Twin Rivers Police Department said in a news release.

Firefighters were called at about 6 p.m. to the structure fire at 5816 Pioneer Way. Arson investigators also responded to "examine the suspicious fire," the news release said.

Investigators were reviewing surveillance videos but had not identified suspects, it said.

Anyone with information should call Twin Rivers police dispatch at (916) 566-2770.

By Hudson Sangree

hsangree@sacbee.com

Firefighters responded this afternoon to a report of suspicious package in Rio Linda, only to find that an Elk Grove chemistry teacher had left the package, which was wrapped in duct tape and had wires poking out, in the back of his pickup.

"Chemistry teachers ignite things a lot," said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Battalion Chief Eric Bridge. He said the package may have been part of a classroom demonstration.

The incident began when a tow truck driver hauled away the Ford F-250 pickup, which was parked on private land, Bridge said. The land owner had called to have it removed, he said.

As the tow-truck driver headed for an impound yard, he noticed the suspicious package in the back of the truck, Bridge said.

The driver pulled into a fire station on Rio Linda Boulevard to report the package, the battalion chief said.

Investigators spoke with the chemistry teacher, who described the package "to a T," Bridge said. They determined it did not represent a threat without having to use a bomb-squad robot, he said.

Fire crews have contained a 30-acre grass fire south of Folsom near White Rock Road, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman said.

The blaze ignited just after 2 p.m., in a large field near the Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area, said CAL FIRE spokesman Daniel Berlant. It grew "pretty quickly," due in part to the dryness of the grass, but CAL FIRE and Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews were able to contain the fire within an hour, Berlant said.

A fire that burned 20 acres in a field of wheat stubble in Yolo County on Wednesday afternoon has been contained, an Esparto Fire Protection District official said.

Crews responded around 5 p.m., to the field near County Road 85 and Road 13, about six miles north of Capay, said district Fire Chief Barry Burns. Personnel from a half-dozen local fire districts and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection were able to contain the blaze within about an hour, Burns said.

No structures were involved and no injuries were reported. The field had already been harvested, so no crop was lost, Burns said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A wildland fire that consumed 350 acres along the Yuba River near Smartsville was declared fully contained this morning.

Firefighters battled the smoky blaze all day Sunday. No structures were threatened.

Three engines and four hand crews were still on the scene about noon today.

By Debbie Arrington

darrington@sacbee.com

A brush fire that consumed more than 400 acres along the Yuba River near Smartsville in Yuba County should be near full containment Monday morning.

More than 175 firefighters battled the smoky blaze Sunday, using a helicopter and three water tenders, said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant. By late afternoon, the fire was 60 percent contained, and attention was turned to mopping up unburned islands of fuel within its perimeter.

"We're making good progress," he said. "The burning operation put quite a lot of smoke out. We didn't want to leave anything within the perimeter that could still burn."

A hazardous materials incident in south Sacramento that seemed under control early Wednesday afternoon became anything but hours later when a trailer holding up to 40 chemical substances burst into flames.

The fire was contained in less than 15 minutes, fire officials said, but not before a thick plume of dark smoke spread over the Mike & Son's Truck Repair yard near Elder Creek Road and Florin Perkins Road.

The daylong saga began around 8 a.m.when fumes started wafting from a tractor-trailer at the shipping yard.

The Sacramento Fire Department and Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District responded to the incident, which was declared a Level 3 hazmat situation. A Level 3 is the most severe category of hazardous materials incidents, occurring when officials must identify the material involved and a decontamination team is required.

Due to cutbacks of its hazmat team, the Sacramento Fire Department also called on the Roseville Fire Department to respond, said Sacramento Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Lloyd Ogan.

Crews ventilated the trailer and evacuated more than 50 nearby businesses, Ogan said.
It was determined that oil containing refrigerant had leaked from a container in the trailer and likely mixed with another chemical to create the fumes, said Sacramento Fire Department Assistant Chief Niko King. Three people were transported to a hospital for some "inhalation irritation," King said.

The situation seemed to be resolved around 1 p.m., when fire officials turned the cleanup over to Clean Harbors, a hazardous chemicals disposal company based in Massachusetts that was storing the trailer at Mike & Son's, Rexroad said.

However, Ogan said, officials believe that before the truck could be unloaded, two non-compatible chemicals came into contact and ignited a fire around 5 p.m.

Although Ogan said all of the substances in the truck were hazardous, he said officials had been unable to determine precisely what they were.

Crews were expected to remain on the scene throughout the night, sequestering the water used to battle the truck fire and ensuring that the materials did not flare up again, Ogan said.

Fire crews have contained a 80-acre grass fire in Placer County, but remain on scene this evening while a hay barn continues to burn, said a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The grass fire, which broke out shortly before 4:30 p.m. near Fiddyment and East Catlett roads, just west of Thunder Valley Casino, was contained around 6 p.m., said CAL FIRE spokesman Daniel Berlant.

A metal-sided hay barn was the only structure involved, and the hay was still burning at 7 p.m., Berlant said. A nearby house did not catch on fire and no injuries were reported, he said.

Personnel responded from CAL FIRE, Placer County Fire, and the Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln and Pleasant Grove fire departments.

Berlant said fire crews would likely remain on scene throughout the evening, putting out hot spots and monitoring the barn.

The Folsom City Council has approved a new contract with the city's firefighters that includes pension reform.

At the Tuesday council meeting the council approved the new contract with Local 522 fire captains, engineers, firefighters and paramedics that will pay 5 percent of their salary toward the employee portion of PERS retirement beginning July 1. That amount will be increased to 9 percent next January.

Three people, including a 6-year-old child, were burned in Folsom Monday night when a fire exploded during the removal of an SUV's gas tank.

Firefighters were called to the 100 block of Briarcliff Drive shortly after 9 a.m. When they arrived, firefighters found a Dodge Ram sport utility vehicle was ablaze, a fence was burning and a tree was engulfed in flames.

A two-alarm fire at a south Sacramento apartment complex caused major damage to two units before being contained Monday night.

Crews responded to reports of a fire at the complex at Stockton Boulevard and 66th Avenue, at about 9:30 p.m. The first crews to arrive found heavy fire in one second-floor apartment spreading to a second apartment, said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Battalion Chief Ron Denny.

A fire involving a barn and several vehicles on a rural Elk Grove property has been contained by fire crews, a Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department spokeswoman said.

The blaze was originally reported as a grass fire at about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, in the 10600 block of Rau Road, said department Fire Chief Tracey Hansen. First arriving units also found a barn and nearby vehicles fully involved, and the primary residence on the property threatened, Hansen said.

A young couple's dog rescued them from a fire in their garage this morning at 6800 Leatherwood Way in North Highlands.

The couple discovered the fire after the dog's barking alerted them. They called the fire department around 2:30 a.m.

Fire crews extinguished the fire and prevented it from spreading it to the house.

The garage burned almost completely, causing around $50,000 in property damage, said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman Scott Cockrum. A new vehicle was inside.

Cockrum said the fire was an accident, possibly the result of improperly stored gasoline.

A fire believed to have been started by a pottery kiln damaged the patio and green room of a home on San Nita Way on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District responded at 5:52 p.m. to a fire reported at 7450 San Nita Way, according to a written statement. The fire was extinguished within five minutes, with little damage to the rest of the house. No injuries were reported.

Officials said the homeowner, an 89-year-old woman, said that her her kiln may have started the fire.

A firefighter was injured while putting out a garage fire in Carmichael near Dewey Drive this morning.

Firefighters responded at 8:05 a.m. after neighbors informed the owners of the home in the 6700 block of Ellsworth Circle that their garage was burning. The fire started in the garage and spread to the attic.

Firefighter Jeffery Wells was on the roof of the garage when it gave way. He fell through, sustaining injuries to his knees and burns on his neck and face. He was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center.

Wells is in fair condition, according to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

No one else was injured.

Photo of firefighter Jeffery Wells courtesy of Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

A fire broke out at a home in Woodland on Wednesday night, damaging the garage and the interior of the residence but causing no injuries to the people inside the home, according to a Woodland Fire Department release.

Fire crews responded to the 1200 block of Eunice Drive at about 7:15 p.m., and found heavy fire in a single-car garage attached to a residence, according to the release. Crews found no extension of the fire into the residence and extinguished the blaze in the garage, the release states.

The interior of the residence sustained light smoke damage, according to the release. Four people in the home when the fire broke out escaped without injury.

The fire caused an estimated $50,000 of damage, the release states.

A two-alarm fire caused major damage to a home in Citrus Heights this morning.

The fire was reported about 7:15 a.m. at the home on Glen Canyon Court near Old Auburn Road and Twin Oaks Avenue. When Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters arrived the fire was well involved in the garage and the attic space above the garage.

Before firefighters could contain the blaze, the garage roof collapsed on two cars and the fire completely spread through the attic of the home. At one point explosions were heard.

An elderly man was hospitalized with burn injuries after being rescued from a house fire by Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews in Rancho Murieta on Tuesday, a Sac Metro Fire spokesman said.

Fire crews responded just after 6 p.m., to a report of a house fire in the 15000 block of Robles Grandes Drive in Rancho Murieta, said Sac Metro Fire Assistant Chief Dale Turner. The caller mentioned that an elderly man lived in the house, Turner said.

Upon arriving, firefighters found the garage of the house well-involved with fire. They searched the house and garage, located the man in the garage "unable to get himself out," and carried him outside, Turner said.

A fire caused an estimated $250,000 damage to a Woodland garage Monday evening.

The fire broke out about 6:30 p.m. at 1517 Midway Drive in the south part of town. When Woodland firefighters arrived heavy smoke and flames were coming from the detached three-car garage.

Sacramento Metro firefighters extinguished a two-alarm fire in a large house in Carmichael this morning.

The fire broke out about 4 a.m. at the home on Cenacle Lane where three people were living. All three were able to escape from the blaze after being alerted by a smoke-detector. One of the adults was in a wheelchair.

Firefighters said the fire began in a wall between the kitchen and the dining room. The fire eventually spread into the attic, said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Assistant Chief Dale Turner.

Sacramento firefighters responding to a house fire in south Sacramento on Monday night discovered a marijuana grow in the house, a Sacramento Fire Department spokesman said.

Fire crews found "a couple hundred plants at least" in the bedrooms and a bathroom of the two-story house in the 6700 block of Cunningham Way, said fire department spokesman Capt. Jon Burgess.

Sacramento police are trying to determine whether or not the grow is legal, Burgess said.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews extinguished a garage fire at a residence in southeast Sacramento County on Monday evening that left a teenager needing treatment for smoke inhalation, a fire district spokesman said.

The fire started at about 6:30 p.m., in the garage of a house in the 9700 block of Carmencita Avenue, said Sac Metro Fire spokesman Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum.

Occupants of the house went outside, noticed the fire and called authorities, Cockrum said.

By Carlos Alcalá and Darrell Smith
calcala@sacbee.com

A single car crash killed a Michigan man early today on Hedge Avenue, near Florin Road, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire officials reported.

The Sacramento Coroner's Office tonight identified the dead man as Moises Enrique Pigg, 18, of Ann Arbor, Mich.

Sac Metro crews responded to reports of a possible vehicle on fire at 2:19 a.m. in the 7200 block of Hedge Avenue.

Sacramento Fire Department Station 19 will hold an open house from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The station, at 1700 Challenge Way near Cal Expo, will be the first of the city's 21 fire stations to participate in the department's third annual open house series.

The open houses offer an opportunity for people in the community to talk with members of the department, tour the station, and get some life safety and fire prevention tips. Educational materials also will be available to take home.

Light refreshments will be provided by fire station personnel and the firefighters union, Local 522.

Fire officials estimated today that a fire on Monday caused an estimated $140,000 damage to an Elk Grove residence.

The fire broke out in the 8700 block of Vytina Drive about 5:30 p.m. Monday. The first fire unit arrived on-scene in about 4 minutes to find a fire burning in an upstairs bedroom and hallway, according to a Cosumnes Fire District spokesman.

Fire crews poured water on the flames and cut a ventilation hole in the roof to release trapped smoke, heat and fire gases. The fire was extinguished in 15 minutes.

One resident has been taken to a hospital suffering from smoke inhalation as a result of a fire at a home in the 8700 block of Vytina Drive in Elk Grove.

John Michelini, deputy chief of the Cosumnes Fire Department, said that the fire, reported about 5:45 p.m., was confined to the second floor of the home.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Michelini said initial indications are that it was started by an unattended candle.

A 56-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with a fire this morning that damaged the Crestwood Manor psychiatric facility.

Wendy Vergeson, an occupant of the facility, was arrested a few hours after the fire on suspicion of arson and is being held in Sacramento County Jail, a Sacramento Fire Department news release states.

The fire broke out at 7:25 a.m. at the psychiatric facility at 2600 Stockton Blvd. It was contained to one room due to activation of the fire sprinkler system and fast action by firefighters, fire officials said.

Sacramento Fire Department crews have contained a two-alarm fire that broke out this morning at a mental health care facility near the UC Davis Medical Center, a fire department spokesman said.

Fire crews responded shortly before 7:45 a.m., to the Crestwood Center in the 2600 block of Stockton Boulevard, said spokesman Capt. Jon Burgess.

They located fire in one of the facility's rooms, Burgess said. The building's sprinkler system had held the fire in check, allowing firefighters to get inside and extinguish the flames, he said.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sacramento Metro firefighters assist the coroner as they look at the victims of a fatal fire in Stephen Drive. Andy Alfaro, Sacramento Bee.

The Sacramento County Coroner said the victims of an overnight fatal fire in North Highlands are a 37-year-old woman and an 8-year-old boy.

Coroner's deputies listed the victims as Laura Fernandez of North Highlands and Wilfred Villarruel of North Highlands.

It was unclear whether the two were related but Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum said last night that they could be mother and son.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sacramento Metro firefighters assist the coroner as they look at the victims of a fatal fire in Stephen Drive. Andy Alfaro, Sacramento Bee.

By Matt Kawahara
@mkawahara@sacbee.com

A house fire in North Highlands left two members of a five-person household dead Wednesday night.

The victims were believed to be a female adult and male juvenile -- possibly a mother and her child, said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Assistant Chief Scott Cockrum. Their identities were not immediately available.

Fire crews responded to the residence at 4061 block of Stephen Drive just before 8 p.m., and found the garage fully engulfed by flames, said Sac Metro Deputy Chief Brian Rice.

The Yolo County Coroner's office has released the name of the 72-year-old woman who died Monday in an apartment fire in Woodland.

She was identified as Sandra Kay McLane.

Woodland firefighters responded at 2:23 p.m. to a structure fire in one unit of the Colonial Terrace Senior Apartments at 59 West Lincoln Ave. Crews quickly extinguished the fire and found McLane in the front room of her apartment.

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

A 72-year-old woman died Monday afternoon in an apartment fire in Woodland, according to a Woodland Fire Department news release.

Woodland firefighters responded to a structure fire in one unit of the Colonial Terrace Senior Apartments at 59 West Lincoln Ave. at 2:23 p.m., according to the release. Crews quickly extinguished the fire and found the victim in the front room, the release states.

The fire did not spread to any of the other 47 units on three stories of the apartment complex, the release states. However, the complex was evacuated. The Red Cross is helping two residents who were displaced by the fire, and all other residents will be able to return to their apartments tonight, according to the release.

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighter was hospitalized Thursday afternoon after he fell down a flight of stairs fighting a house fire in Sacramento's Arden-Arcade neighborhood, a fire district spokesman said.

Fire crews responded to the 1800 block of Geneva Place at 4:33 p.m., and found flames coming from a two-story house, said Sac Metro spokesman Capt. Christian Pebbles.

The one-alarm fire, which reportedly began in an upstairs bedroom, caused significant damage to the house before firefighters got it under control, Pebbles said.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

Fire officials said a huge fire early this morning caused millions of dollars in damage at an auto body business on Stockton Boulevard at 65th Street.

No firefighters or civilians were injured, according to a press release from Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Capt. Christian Pebbles, who described the fire as "massive."

The fire was reported shortly after 1 a.m. at a commercial auto body parts facility, but Sacramento City and Sac Metro crews arrived to find flames coming through the roof.

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

A fast-moving fire destroyed an abandoned McDonald's in south Sacramento late tonight.

The fire was likely started by a person, either accidentally or on purpose, because the building did not have power or utilities, said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Battalion Chief Patrick Ellis.

The boarded-up building, on Stockton Boulevard near Florin Road, was popular with transients, Ellis said.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials announced this morning that Chief Bill Sponable will be stepping down as chief effective April 1.

Officials characterized it as a mutual decision, though the chief said in his brief remarks to reporters that he had hoped to stay in his position longer.

"This process has been extremely challenging for us all," Sponable said, referring to the district's efforts to remain financially viable in a poor economy. "Relations have become extremely strained."

By Denny Walsh and Sam Stanton
dwalsh@sacbee.com

Alexander Piggee pleaded guilty today to setting the massive Oct. 21 arson blaze at the Westfield Galleria in Roseville and likely will face 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 24.

The 24-year-old Sacramento man pleaded guilty to two arson counts in U.S. District Court in Sacramento this morning, one involving the $55 million Galleria blaze and the other for a minor fire he set at a North Highlands Walmart earlier that day.

Piggee could have faced up to 20 years in prison on each count, but federal prosecutors say they plan to ask that he be sentenced to two five-year terms to be served consecutively. Piggee also has agreed to plead guilty in Sacramento Superior Court to setting a blaze that damaged his grandmother's Oak Park home in the weeks before the Galleria fire. The District Attorney's office has agreed to recommend that any sentence he receive in that case be served concurrently with his federal time.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Three unconscious cats in a smoke-filled Woodland house were revived by rescuers this morning.

Woodland firefights extinguished a blaze in a garage and house in the 1200 block of McKinley Avenue. All the people staying there escaped unharmed.

However, they reported three felines remained inside, and when rescuers found them they appeared lifeless.

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

Sacramento fire crews putting out a fire in one unit of a southeast neighborhood duplex discovered marijuana growing in the second unit.

Police responded to the 6400 block of Cougar Drive shortly before 1 p.m. Friday to investigate and were there when the unit's occupant arrived, the Sacramento Police Department activity log shows.

The occupants, however, provided proper paperwork for marijuana cultivation, police reported.

Instead of arresting the growers, officers left and notified code enforcement to look into what they believed to be improper wiring used to supply power.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1987.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A 98-year-old woman died this morning in a hospital as a result of injuries suffered Thursday in a fire in the 7300 block Conrad Drive in south Sacramento.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office website identifies the woman as Mui Sat Sy.

Sacramento County Metropolitan Fire District officials said the fire started on the outside of the house and fire investigators have been unable to rule out barbecue cooking equipment as the source.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

As part of its annual "Check and Change" program which takes place during spring and fall time changes, the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department will distribute nearly 1,000 new batteries to Galt residents for use in home smoke detectors.

Area Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, with the help of the Galt Rotary Club and Galt Community Training, will deliver the free batteries and fire-safety brochures to homes in Galt neighborhoods beginning at 10 a.m. March 12.

Fire officials encourage residents to change the batteries in smoke detectors at the beginning and end of Daylight Saving Time.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters prepare to mop up after a woman was rescued from a fire on Nomad Way. Bee Staff Photo by Hector Amezcua.

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

Firefighters rescued an elderly woman from her burning home in south Sacramento this afternoon, a spokesman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said.

At 2:24 p.m., fire crews responded to a single-story residence in the 7300 block of Conrad Drive near Nomad Way that showed heavy fire coming from the interior, said Capt. Christian Pebbles, Metro Fire spokesman.

Crews encountered heavy security bars and doors that delayed their entry, Pebbles said. Upon gaining entry, they found one woman in a bedroom and transported her out of the house.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

The Sacramento Fire Department is recommending that an Oak Park building that burned this morning be knocked down, a department spokesman said.

The warehouse-type brick building at 3216 Martin Luther King Boulevard was damaged by fire about 6:30 a.m.

Firefighters entering the building were met by a man who may have been living in what was supposed to be a vacant structure.

By Bee Staff

Gasoline vapor ignited by accident during repair work, causing a fire today that burned a gas station in Elk Grove, fire investigators said.

The Cosumnes Community Services Fire said the "source of ignition ... couldn't be determined." A mechanical source or spark from a metal jack are possibilities, the fire district said in a statement.

Firefighters battled the blaze at the Shell station at the corner of Elk Grove Boulevard and Elk Grove Florin Road after the fire broke out shortly before noon.

By Kim Minugh
clocke@sacbee.com

Sacramento area fire officials gathered this morning to announce they have been awarded $11 million in federal grant money - funds that will pay for 51 additional firefighters.

Most significantly, the grant will allow the Sacramento Fire Department to hire 27 firefighters and restore the two companies that have been "browned out" as a result of budget cuts.

The city department is receiving $5.6 million, according to authorities.

By Bill Lindelof and Tony Bizjak
blindelof@sacbee.com

A small fire in the press room of the Sacramento Bee has been extinguished, city firefighters reported. The 8:45 a.m. fire forced evacuation of the building at 21st and Q streets.

The fire appeared to have been caused by welding work on new equipment being installed in the press room. Fire official said smoke worked its way into the building's heating and air conditioning system, spreading smoke to other areas of the building.

"We have it completely contained," Battalion Chief Rick Rethford said. "There have been no injuries."

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

A fire is burning this evening in an industrial building on Fruitridge Road between Florin Perkins Road and Watt Avenue.

Sacramento Fire Department units are concentrating on keeping the fire from spreading to other buildings, a fire spokesman said.

No one was injured. The building was unoccupied when the fire broke out.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

A Mono County couple have paid the government $1 million for damages from a fire they accidentally caused that scorched 7,435 acres of the Inyo National Forest, according to U. S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner.

The Sawmill Fire ignited on Sept. 14, 2006, after Jonathan and Penny Bourne burned brush in a fire pit on their private property that was not fully extinguished and embers blew into dry fuel, Wagner said.

He said it cost the government more than $1 million to suppress the blaze.

"This recovery is the most recent in the government's continued efforts to hold individuals and companies accountable for behavior that jeopardizes and damages the national forests," Wagner said. "These are cherished resources, particularly in California."

Call The Bee's Denny Walsh, (916) 321-1189.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Firefighters were kept busy when two fires at the same time broke out in two separate duplexes -- both started by unattended candles.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters arrived at 12:22 a.m. to a fire burning on one side of a duplex at 10988 Hirschfield Way in Rancho Cordova. Firefighters rescued a woman who was trapped between a side fence and the home when she tried to escape the blaze.

It took 30 firefighters about 12 minutes to bring the fire under control. A cat and a dog died in the blaze.

By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com

An elderly woman was rescued from her burning home in Sacramento's Northgate area this evening, the Fire Department reported.

The woman, who wasn't identified, was taken to UC Davis Medical Center after being pulled from her home on Potomac Avenue.

Officials said two dogs were also treated for smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire, reported at 6:47 p.m., is under investigation. Crews said they couldn't confirm the presence of a working smoke alarm in the home.

Call The Bee's Dale Kasler, (916) 321-1066.

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

A family has been displaced after a fire broke out in their south Sacramento townhome this morning, Sacramento firefighters said today.

The Sacramento Fire Department responded at 8:02 a.m. to the blaze in the 7600 block of La Mancha Way near Mack Road, said department spokesman Capt. Jonathan Burgess.

The two-alarm fire was active when firefighters arrived, Burgess said. It was confined to the one townhouse, but that unit was a total loss, Burgess said.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

Police had to restrain a man trying to re-enter his burning apartment after an explosion rocked a College Glen apartment complex today, Sacramento Fire Department officials reported.

The Fire Department received multiple calls of an explosion at the Stanford Garden Apartments on Notre Dame Drive.

Crews from Sacramento Fire and Sacramento Metro Fire arrived to find flames blowing out of an upstairs window.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A large house listed for sale at $1.2 million has suffered major fire damage this morning in Pilot Hill, El Dorado County.

The home on 25 wooded acres in the 5600 block of Salmon Falls Road was reported on fire shortly before 2 a.m. The 5,900-square foot home was still burning at 7 a.m.

Details on how the home caught fire were not immediately available. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighters and other crews were on scene of the house fire.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A three-alarm fire caused extensive damage to an apartment building in Woodland Tuesday night, in the same block where a fire Sunday damaged an apartment complex.

Firefighters were called to the two-story structure at 817 Fifth St. at around 10 p.m., according to a Woodland Fire Department news release.

When firefighters arrived, heavy smoke was pouring from second-floor units. Crews attempted to find the source of the smoke on the second floor, breaking into the attic.

The fire was found and extinguished in walls and a first-floor bathroom. Damage was estimated at $100,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The fire occurred in the same block of Fifth Street as another blaze that damaged an apartment complex early Sunday morning. That fire destroyed three units and heavily damaged the remaining three.

None of the 14 residents were injured. Damage was estimated at $500,000, according to a Fire Department news release.

Fire crews arrived at the scene at 3 a.m. and found an attic fire.

The investigation of both fires is ongoing, but Rick Sander, interim fire chief, said in an e-mail that the two fires are not believed to be related. He said the cause of Tuesday night's fire likely was accidental.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A three-alarm fire caused extensive damage to an apartment building in Woodland Tuesday night.

Firefighters were called to the two-story structure at 817 Fifth St. at around 10 p.m. When firefighters arrived, heavy smoke was pouring from second-floor units. Crews attempted to find the source of the smoke on the second floor, breaking into the attic to remove smoke and heat.

The fire was eventually found and extinguished in walls and a first-floor bathroom. Damage loss was estimated at $100,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

Woodland police suspect a 102-year-old woman was the inadvertent target of a firebombing late Sunday night.

Georgia Traynham was with her caretaker at her home in the 500 block of West Keystone Avenue when someone threw a Molotov-cocktail type device through her front window just before midnight, said Cpl. Ron Cordova of the Woodland police department.

When officers arrived they found a neighbor trying to extinguish the fire with a garden hose. They forced their way into the house and rescued the women, both of whom suffered smoke inhalation, Cordova said. Police did not identify the caretaker.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and alerted police they had found what appeared to be components of a homemade firebomb, he said.

Georgia Traynham, born in 1908, is the mother of Woodland Daily Democrat sports editor Gary Traynham.

Cordova said police have no reason to believe she was the intended target.

"She fell victim to somebody who decided to throw a device at her home," Cordova said.

The suspected arson is under investigation, he said.

Call The Bee's Hudson Sangree, (916) 321-1191.

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com

Fire crews extinguished a fire on a light-rail train this morning, but their first attempt was foiled when the train drove away, a Sacramento Fire Department spokesman said.

Crews responded to the Regional Transit light-rail station at Florin Perkins Road and Folsom Boulevard this morning after receiving reports of an RT car on fire, said Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jonathan Burgess.

All passengers exited the train, Burgess said. Passengers had not been exposed to flames or smoke inside the rail car, he said.

Crews began to assess the fire, which was located on the undercarriage of the car and was producing heavy black smoke, Burgess said.

As firefighters were standing alongside the car, it drove away, Burgess said.

"It sounds like there was some sort of communication error or breakdown," he said.

Fire crews followed the train for nearly a mile and a half before it stopped again, he said.

"During that time, our fire companies were in pursuit," Burgess said.

The train stopped at the Starfire station near La Riviera Drive and Folsom Boulevard.

Crews extinguished the fire and called a Level 2 hazmat situation because of the electrical equipment involved in the fire, including the car's battery and generator, Burgess said.

The car likely started moving again after it originally stopped because it is standard procedure to tow a car with an overheating resistor grid to a location where it can be inspected, said Regional Transit spokeswoman Alane Masui.

The mechanic moving the car may have been under the impression that the electrical equipment under the car was smoking without a fire having been sparked, Masui said.

The mechanic stopped at the Starfire station after the Fire Department caught up with him, Masui said.

Fire crews extinguished the blaze and light-rail service resumed around 9 a.m.

Call The Bee's Matt Kawahara, (916) 321-1015.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Smoke detectors are credited for alerting residents of an Elk Grove home to an early-morning fire.

Cosumnes Fire Department firefighters responded to a report of a fire at a home in the 8600 block of Mannington Street at 3:35 a.m. today. The residents were awakened by smoke detectors and found smoke in the house and a fire burning in the wall and ceiling above their fireplace.

Although firefighters had some difficulty finding the fire that was burning behind a wall and in the crawl space above the ceiling, they were able to bring it under control in 20 minutes, according to a fire department news release.

Fire officials said the smoke detectors allowed the family time to escape without injury and helped reduce the damage caused by the spreading fire.

Deputy Fire Chief John Michelini said this is the second time in recent weeks that Cosumnes firefighters have responded a fire in which smoke detectors were responsible for preventing a possible loss of life.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cynthia Hubert
chubert@sacbee.com

A mobile home fire killed one person in North Highlands this evening, fire officials said.

Firefighters responded to a blaze at around 6 p.m. in the 4800 block of Liberty Bell Lane and found one person dead, said Brian Rice, assistant chief for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

The cause of the fire, which caused heavy damage to the home's interior, has yet to be determined, he said.

Arson investigators were on the scene Saturday night.

The victim was not identified, pending notification of next of kin.

Call The Bee's Cynthia Hubert, (916) 321-1082.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A fire quickly spread from the first floor to the upper story of an old house under renovation in midtown Sacramento early this morning.

When firefighters arrived to 619 18th St. at about 1:30 a.m, heavy smoke was pouring from the vacant residential structure.

The fire spread to an upstairs apartment and attic, resulting in a second alarm to be called.

The fire was contained to portions of downstairs, upstairs and attic in the three-unit structure, according to a fire department press release. All units were vacant and construction equipment in the downstairs apartment indicated the building was under renovation.

No cause has been determined for the fire.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A fire last night swept through a long-standing Italian restaurant outside of Colfax.

Giovanni's, about a mile off the freeway on the outskirts of Colfax, was heavily damaged in the blaze that was reported at 10:20 p.m. Crews are still at the scene.

The restaurant dates back almost 70 years to when Gulio and Josephine Panelli moved to the small community of Shady Glen on Highway 40, then the main route over the mountains.

The couple bought an auto camp and began serving food and beverages. After Gulio died in 1945, according to the restaurant website, Josephine continued to serve Italian food and the spot was commonly called "Josie's Place."

Food service was discontinued in the early 1960s but the restaurant was reopened in 1982 by their son John Panelli. He called it "Giovanni's," which is Italian for John.

The cause of the fire was not immediately available.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

A body was discovered in a burning car Monday night in the South Land Park area of Sacramento, police officials said.

Sacramento Fire Department personnel responded to a report of a vehicle fire just before 7 p.m. in the parking lot of the Holiday Villa restaurant at South Land Park Drive and 58th Avenue, said Sacramento Police Officer Konrad von Schoech. When firefighters arrived, they discovered someone inside a Honda Accord. They tried to pull the person out but couldn't, von Schoech said. The body was burned beyond recognition, he said.

Officials said they don't know how the fire started or if the person died before the fire started or because of the fire.

John Thomas, 19, who lives in the nearby Land Park Villa apartment complex, said after the fire started, "The flames were way too high. You couldn't get near the car."

Arson investigators and homicide investigators are trying to determine the circumstances that led to the fire and the person's death.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

A fire at a vacant Rancho Cordova motel on Folsom Boulevard has been brought under control.

Firefighters were in the mop up stage of the blaze an hour after the 10 a.m. fire broke out at the abandoned 1st Value Inn near Mather Field Road.

The fire struck several units on the second floor of the structure.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

In Placer County Superior Court today, the lawyer for suspected Westfield Galleria arsonist won a judge's order to have his client's mental state evaluated.

As expected, Johnny Griffin III asked Judge Colleen Nichols to suspend criminal proceedings so psychologists can analyze the 23-year-old.

"I had some questions concerning his mental stability. The court, based on that, agreed to appoint doctors to evaluate him to make an assessment," Griffin said. "I believe that he has substantial mental health issues."

Griffin said he had obtained documents from "at least four" mental heath facilities to support his claim.

Prior to the 2 p.m. hearing beginning, Piggee looked disinterested, tilting his head to the side and closing his eyes, as if he was taking a nap. Later he lightly bumped his head against the courtroom wall.

The young man is accused of starting last week's fire that severely damaged the Roseville shopping center, the Sacramento region's largest mall.

Facing five felony counts, Piggee is accused of walking into the GameStop at the Galleria on Oct. 21, telling the clerk he had a bomb and gun then setting fire to the store. The fire later burst out of control, forcing the mall to shut down for a week before some shops were reopened this morning.

The charges against Piggee include: aggravated arson, arson of a structure, two counts of threats to commit crimes resulting in death, and one count of burglary. He also faces a special allegation of using an accelerant to commit arson.

Call The Bee's Ed Fletcher, (916) 321-1269.

By Queenie Wong
qwong@sacbee.com

Traffic is starting to clear up on eastbound Interstate 80 after an early morning big rig fire blocked multiple lanes in Roseville.

All lanes are now open except for one off ramp lane west of Taylor Road.

The Roseville Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol arrived at the scene shortly before 4 a.m. when they received reports of a tire on the truck catching fire.

The fire fully engulfed the truck, but no one inside the vehicle was injured.

An earlier version of this story mistakenly said the accident was in Auburn.

Call The Bee's Queenie Wong, (916) 321-1008.

By Sam Stanton and Dale Kasler
sstanton@sacbee.com

Some Westfield Galleria stores, including Nordstrom, may be able to open in the next several days, a Westfield official said this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Roseville authorities revealed they will be reviewing whether the mall sprinkler system was ordered turned off at some point during Thursday's fire.

Questions have lingered about how the fire took over the mall after it initially appeared to be doing little damage once the sprinkler system was activated Thursday morning.

Witnesses at the scene reported seeing little smoke until after noon, when the fire suddenly erupted into a huge blaze.

Roseville police kept firefighters from going into the mall to fight the fire over fears that a bomb was inside, and authorities have said they have no information on whether the sprinkler system was shut down at one point.

Dennis Mathisen, division chief for Roseville Fire, said in response to reporters' questions at a press conference at the Galleria that determining what happened with the sprinklers would be investigated.

"We've been hearing some of the information, too," Mathisen said. "As with any investigation our ears and eyes are wide open (for) any information that comes our way ... There have been no final determinations that have been made."

Mathisen added that "we can say that the sprinkler system was activated," but would not elaborate.

Roseville police Lt. Michael Doane also said he could not address the issue. "All of that is being reviewed right now," he said.

Officials have said the mall may not be able to reopen until late November, but mall general manager Gavin Farnam said today that the mall can be reopened in phases, beginning in "several days" with the opening of Nordstrom and some other stores.

He did not elaborate, but Roseville public works director Rob Jensen said he believed 25 to 30 percent of the Galleria's stores may soon reopen.

"It's a good number of stores that will be open within the week," Jensen said.

Call The Bee's Sam Stanton, (916) 321-1091.

By Queenie Wong
qwong@sacbee.com

A man who died at a hospital after firefighters found him at a house fire yesterday morning in the 4000 block of Galbrath Avenue has been identified as 51-year-old Zachary Hood, according to Sacramento County Coroner's Office online records.

Hood was transported to the Mercy San Juan Hospital "under CPR," but did not survive, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman Capt. Christian Pebbles.

At 5:06 a.m., firefighters arrived at the house south of Antelope Road to find it "well involved with fire and threatening adjacent homes," he said.

The fire started in the kitchen area and the cause is still under investigation.

Call The Bee's Queenie Wong, (916) 321-1008.

By Bee Staff

A man died at a hospital after he was found this morning in a house fire in the 4000 block Galbrath Avenue, a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman said.

At 5:06 a.m., firefighters arrived at the house south of Antelope Road to find it "well involved with fire and threatening adjacent homes," said Capt. Christian Pebbles.

Firefighters found an unidentified man, who was transported to Mercy San Juan Hospital "under CPR," Pebbles said.

The fire victim did not survive, Pebbles said.

It took more than 40 firefighters 25 minutes to bring the fire under control, he said.

The fire started in the kitchen area and the cause is still under investigation.

Follow updates to this developing news story here.

By Matt Kawahara, Bill Lindelof, Ed Fletcher, Dale Kasler and Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

A fresh plume of heavy black smoke is pouring from the Roseville Galleria this afternoon as police continue to try and determine whether a backpack left there during a barricade situation this morning contained any explosives.

There was no immediate word on what caused the fresh smoke, but Roseville officials say the suspect in the siege of the mall has been taken to the Roseville city jail.

The suspect's name has not yet been released, but the incident ended with no injuries to customers or employees.

The drama began this morning after a man in his early to mid-20s walked into the GameStop store on the second floor and began talking incoherently to clerks, and then ordered them out.

The suspect apparently set a fire inside the mall after it was evacuated, but the mall's sprinkler system appeared to have suppressed portions of the fire after a period during which a large plume of smoke billowed from the mall, the largest in the Sacramento region.

Police and firefighters delayed entering the GameStop store where a fire apparently was set because of concerns over the backpack.

Officials said the man took over the store after telling the clerks something about his sister being held captive.

He then ordered the GameStop workers out, sparking the evacuation and closure of the mall.

The mother of the GameStop manager said she spoke to her son after the mall evacuation to make certain everyone was all right.

"I called him right away," Norma Delgado told The Bee. "The store was evacuated and he's doing fine."

Delgado said her son told her that the suspect came in and ordered workers to leave.

"He didn't tell me much, he just told me he was ordered to get out, and he did," she said. "I'm still a little shaky."

Misty Briglia, who works inside the Macy's next to the GameStop, said workers initially were told not to alarm customers or let them know precisely what was going on until everyone was ordered to evacuate at about 11:15 a.m.

"I'm a little freaked out," she said.

The evacuation led to a massive response to the mall, a sprawling 10-year-old center that is one of the area's top shopping destinations.

Police and fire units surrounded the buildings while shoppers and customers moved away from the mall as smoke billowed overhead.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspect, who could be seen handcuffed and being questioned by officers sitting on a mall bench, was armed.

Reports that shots had been fired were dismissed by Roseville police, who said the sound was from a non-lethal device being used to break a window.

The Galleria has transformed Roseville into one of the retail hubs of the Sacramento area.

Not only has it imported such upscale merchants as Tiffany and Louis Vitton, it's also sparked the development of several shopping centers in the adjacent area. Last February Hyatt opened a hotel next door.

In addition, the mall serves as "home court" for the Sacramento Capitals team tennis franchise.

A $240 million expansion, concluded in November 2008, brought 100 more stores to the mall and signified the Galleria's ability to persevere in a difficult economy. It also irritated Sacramento city officials, who accused owner Westfield Corp. of lavishing attention on the Roseville mall while neglecting the company's Downtown Plaza.

The incident sparked heightened security measures at Arden Fair Mall, where Sacramento police came out to patrol the parking areas to make certain there were no problems.

Arden Fair security manager Steve Reed said he monitored the situation at the Galleria through law enforcement and media contacts, but that there were no problems at his mall today.

"Obviously, our main concern is the safety of the customers," Reed said. "We heightened our patrols, made them more frequent and actually had law enforcement on the property patrolling today because of this incident."

Ironically, Reed said, he began his day at 6 a.m. by distributing information from the U.S. Department of homeland Security on how merchants and security should respond to such an incident. Malls typically have extensive security procedures and surveillance devices, and Reed said they train regularly to respond to problems.

Call The Bee's Matt Kawahara, (916) 321-1015.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.comA four-alarm fire ripped through a midtown food bank and offices of the Episcopal church early this morning.

The two buildings on 27th Street near Capitol Avenue were heavily damaged, especially the River City Food Bank. The food bank serves more than 36,000 people every year.

About 8,000 pounds of food was in the food bank when the fire broke out.

"We believe that food is gone but we have not been able to go into the building," said Lesley Miller, spokeswoman for the food bank.

The fire did not harm nearby Trinity Cathedral, the cathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California.

The blaze, which is under investigation, broke out about 1:45 a.m. at the food bank. The fire spread to the diocesan offices, eventually going to four alarms with 104 firefighters responding.

Flames shot 20 to 30 feet into the air and it took more than an hour to bring the blaze under control, said Capt. Jonathan Burgess, spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Department.

"The food bank was pretty much a complete loss," said Burgess.

The food bank is not operated by the church, although it receives support from many congregations. Started by St. Paul's Episcopal it was headquartered at Trinity Cathedral at one time.

Until 1997, the food bank was affiliated with Episcopal Community Services. But for more than a decade the food bank has been independent, providing emergency food and shelter.

The diocesan office building suffered damage to the attic and rooms upstairs. Downstairs rooms were in good condition, except for water damage, Burgess said.

Two people from a nearby apartment were evacuated but then later allowed to go back to their residence.

Several people reported the fire, which is under investigation.

Firefighters had a tough time breaking through the ceiling to get to the fire in the attic of the food bank. That forced firefighters to pull out and pour water onto the two-story building from the outside.

"Firefighters did a good job stopping it," said Burgess. "Flame was 20-30 feet in the air from the food bank."

Anyone who wants to help the food bank replenish its supplies with the holidays approaching, is encouraged to donate online at rivercityfoodbank.org.

Photo caption: Firefighters mop at the River City Food Bank in Sacramento on Thursday morning after a four-alarm fire ripped through the food bank and offices of the Episcopal church. Photo by Randy Pench.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Two fires within a month at the same Stockton Boulevard upholstery shop in Colonial Heights are under investigation, fire officials said.

This morning a two-alarm fire broke out at the shop in the 4600 block of Stockton Boulevard. The blaze is considered suspicious, according to the Sacramento City Fire Department.

Firefighters responded to the same location on Sept. 21 when a three-alarm fire heavily damaged the upholstery shop and spread to an adjacent glass business.

Today's fire was contained to the upholstery shop, which had been fenced off after the September fire.

Today's fire is considered suspicious because electricity and gas were not connected to the building and nobody was allowed to go into the structure, a Fire Department spokesman said.

Video caption: Sacramento City Fire Captain Jason Hemler discusses the fire. Video by Randy Pench.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Expect some traffic congestion today between Sacramento State and Cal Expo associated with firefighters paying their respects to a fallen comrade.

James Saunders, a 22-year veteran of the department, died Thursday morning at Mercy San Juan Medical Center. Fire officials said Saunders suffered a major heart attack on Oct. 2 while fighting a grass fire near Haggin Oaks Golf Course. He was 52 years old.

A funeral is being held at Sacramento State this morning. Services will include a ceremonial last ring of a fire bell and a missing man fly-over.

At about 2:15 p.m. the service will end and 100 fire engines and other vehicles will leave the parking lot for a reception at Cal Expo. The procession will travel down College Town Drive, head north on Howe Avenue and west on Arden Way to Exposition Boulevard before entering the Main Gate of Cal Expo.

Sac Metro Fire extended its thanks in a press release for the public's understanding for any traffic delays.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

Photo caption: Sac Metro firefighters hang an American flag at Hornet Stadium in preparation for the traditional line of duty death fire service Firefighter James Saunders at the stadium on Tuesday. Saunders died while fighting a fire in Sacramento on Oct. 7. (Photo by Renee C. Byer/rbyer@sacbee.com)

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A grass fire that started around 4 p.m. west of Roseville was reported 40 percent contained at 100 acres about 5:30 p.m.

Daniel Berlant said the grass fire was near a residential area at Walerga Road and Bridgestone Crescent Court.

Firefighters have been kept busy this afternoon responding to grass fires around the Sacramento region.

In addition to the Roseville-area fire, Berlant said Cal Fire dispatched two strike teams of five engines each to two grass fires in Yuba County, one at Grand and Linda avenues in the Linda area, and the other at Highway 65 and 40 Mile Road near Wheatland.

Because of gusty winds, red flag fire warnings have been in effect this afternoon.

Berlant said the strongest winds have been reported between Dixon and the Bay Area.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A grass fire that began about 4 p.m. on Roseville's western edge burned a couple of fences, but firefighters were able to prevent damage to homes.

Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, reported shortly before 8 p.m. that the fire was 70 percent contained and full containment was expected by morning.

The fire initially was estimated to have burned about 100 acres, but after mapping the area from the air, Berlant said, that figure was reduced to 56 acres.

With homes bordering the fire on two sides, the city of Roseville sent automated phone messages to area residents about 5 p.m. advising evacuations, but then rescinded the advisory. Berlant said the fire was halted about 200 feet from some property lines.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Firefighters were kept busy throughout the afternoon responding to grass fires around the Sacramento region.

In addition to the Roseville-area fire, Berlant said Cal Fire dispatched two strike teams of five engines each to two grass fires in Yuba County, one at Grand and Linda avenues in the Linda area, and the other at Highway 65 and 40 Mile Road near Wheatland.

Because of gusting winds, red flag fire warnings were in effect throughout the afternoon and evening. Berlant said the strongest winds have been reported between Dixon and the Bay Area.

Photo credit: Paul Kitagaki Jr., The Sacramento Bee

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

Sacramento Metro Fire quickly contained a quarter-acre grass fire today in the American River Parkway on the heels of another parkway fire that injured two firefighters Friday.

The new fire, of unknown origin, broke out near Raldina Court in Carmichael and was fought by grass fire crews and a helicopter, said Capt. Christian Pebbles.

It was reported around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, less than a day after another fire near Sunrise Boulevard.

In Friday's blaze, one firefighter injured his ribs falling down a steep bank and another suffered heat exhaustion, but no one was injured today and there were no losses to property.

There are no strong winds to fan the blazes this weekend, but fire officials warn that dry weather and fuel mean that there is still significant wildfire danger.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

Sacramento Metro Fire officials are reminding area residents that wildfires are still a hazard, in light of a blaze Friday that threatened homes and sent two firefighters to the hospital.

The fire started in the American River Parkway near Sunrise Boulevard around 3 p.m.

In the course of fighting the fire, one firefighter fell down a steep cliff face and injured his ribs while another suffered heat exhaustion, according to a release issued by Capt. Christian Pebbles. Both injured firefighters were treated and released.

The fire occupied 30 firefighters and took nearly an hour to bring under control.

Although the blaze threatened homes atop the ridge at Villa Court, there were no homes damaged.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighter taken to a hospital Sunday night after fighting a small grass fire at Haggin Oaks Golf Course has died.

Jim Saunders (left), 52, suffered a "cardiac event" while working on the fire.

Saunders, a 22-year department veteran, was treated at the scene and then taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center. Saunders was taken off life-support at 1:50 a.m. today.

His liver and both kidneys were donated for transplant and will benefit three other people, according to a news release from Metro Fire.

Saunders, a Navy veteran, is survived by his wife, Holly, and adult children, Erik and Rachel.

Saunders was assigned to Engine Company 101 in the Arcade area.

According to a report last year by the National Fire Protection Association, sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Nine people were displaced from their residences after a fire broke out early this morning in the garage of a Rocklin fourplex.

Fire Chief Bill Mikesell said the fire was reported at 3:34 a.m. in the 6100 block of Merrywood Drive. It started in a four-car garage.

The garage and two vehicles inside were a total loss, but Mikesell said firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the living quarters.

Nine people were in the units when the fire started and all were able to get out safely. Mikesell said one resident was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

"Any time you have a structure fire in a residence at this time you are always very, very thankful when quick action of neighbors or firefighters prevents major injuries or death," the fire chief said.

Mikesell said residents and witnesses are being interviewed, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The American Red Cross is assisting residents with emergency shelter, food and comfort items. Mikesell said the residents were allowed into their units to retrieve clothing and some personal items, but the building must be inspected to determine whether the fire damage to the garage has affected the structural integrity of the residential units. As of late Tuesday afternoon, he said, gas and electrical services had not been restored.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A sleeping Elk Grove resident was awakened by a smoke detector today that was triggered when fire erupted in his apartment.

Cosumnes Fire Department firefighters were called to 10099 Elk Grove-Florin Road about 11:50 p.m. Sunday to a fire in the a second-floor apartment.

The resident had been awakened by the sound of a smoke detector to find a fast-growing fire in his kitchen. He fled the apartment and notified an adjacent tenant.

Firefighters were able to control the flames in 10 minutes. The resident of the damaged apartment was transported to a hospital for smoke inhalation.

"This is a great example of how effective smoke detectors are at reducing loss of life from fire," said Deputy Fire Chief John Michelini.

Jennifer Rubin, public education officer for the Cosumnes Fire Department, said that October is fire prevention month.

"It is a good time to change your smoke detector batteries and practice your family escape plan," said Rubin. "It all worked during this fire and everyone survived."

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Dale Kasler and Chelsea Phua
dkasler@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighter was taken to a hospital Sunday night after fighting a small grass fire at Haggin Oaks Golf Course.

Assistant Fire Chief Brian Rice said the firefighter, a 20-year veteran, suffered a "cardiac event" while working on the fire.

Rice said the firefighter has been taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center, where he is receiving treatment.

District officials aren't identifying the firefighter, but Rice said their "thoughts and prayers are with the family."

According to a report last year by the National Fire Protection Association, sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States.

Call The Bee's Dale Kasler, (916) 321-1066.

A Sacramento City fire investigator looks for clues in the cause of a three-alarm fire which destroyed an upholstery shop and damaged a glass business early this morning in Colonial Heights. Photo by Randy Pench

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A three-alarm fire destroyed an upholstery shop and damaged a glass business early this morning in Colonial Heights.

The fire broke out at 2:26 a.m. at the commercial building at 4640 Stockton Boulevard, said Sacramento City Fire Capt. Jonathan Burgess.

When crews first arrived the fire was observed at the back of the building. Firefighters took hose lines through the front door and crews also went to the back to an adjoining apartment.

The apartment was searched and found to be unoccupied. The fire eventually spread into the attic of the upholstery shop.

A decision was made to pull firefighters out of the building when the fire started to burn with more force in the attic. Within two minutes there was partial roof collapse of the building.

The entire roof eventually collapsed. There were no injuries to firefighters or the public.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Queenie Wong
qwong@sacbee.com

Firefighters have contained a series of small grass fires that threatened a barn housing horses near Watt Ave and Long View Drive, according to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

Captain Christian Pebbles, a spokesman for the fire district, said that firefighters received a call around 9:25 p.m. about four small grass fires, each less than 20 feet from the barn. They contained the fire within an hour, he said.

Details about the cause of the fire are not available at this time, Pebbles said.

Call The Bee's Queenie Wong, (916) 321-1008.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A fire at the Motel 6, 2030 Arden Way, was mostly contained to the second-story unit where the blaze apparently broke out shortly after midnight, said a spokesman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

The fire caused some damage to neighboring units and roof.

A total of 33 firefighters were called to the fire, which caused an estimated loss of about $100,000, the spokesman said.

Occupants of the motel evacuated safely.

No injuries were reported to motel customers or firefighters.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Queenie Wong
qwong@sacbee.com

Rancho Cordova police officers arrested two boys after they admitted they started a fire Sunday afternoon at a playground on White Rock Road in Rancho Cordova, according to fire officials.

The fire started at the playground around 2:32 p.m. and spread to a portable classroom at White Rock Elementary School, said Captain Christian Pebbles, a spokesman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District. The damage from the fire is about $25,000, he said.

The boys, who are 11 years old and 12 years old, admitted to the police during the interview process that they started the fire. Officers did not offer additional details.

The suspects were cited and released to their parents.

Call The Bee's Queenie Wong, (916) 321-1008.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A fire that burned outbuildings and equipment on former ranch property in Elk Grove early this morning was deliberately set, according to fire investigators.

Deputy Chief John Michelini of the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department said the fire that burned about 1-1/2 acres in the 6200 block of Calvine Road was reported about 4 a.m. It involved a multitude of dilapidated outbuildings, tools and equipment, and was brought under control in about an hour.

Michelini said arson investigators determined that fires were started at several locations on the property but have not identified what type of device or devices were used.

"We have no reason to believe that this is related to arsons in the north county or Carmichael areas," he said.

Michelini said the property once included a small house and ranch operations, but it had been abandoned and had been declared uninhabitable by city code enforcement officers.

Because arson is often used to cover up other crimes, Michelini said, a cadaver dog was brought in to search the site to make sure there were no victims.

He said the fire department was working with Elk Grove code enforcement officers and county hazardous materials officials to handle removal of containers of unidentified liquids and other potentially hazardous materials on the property.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Miranda Simon and Chelsea Phua
msimon@sacbee.com

Firefighters have contained and nearly extinguished a two-alarm grass fire at Discovery Park near the Garden Highway, said Capt. Jonathan Burgess, spokesperson for the Sacramento Fire Department, in a press release.

The approximately 12-acre wide, heavy brush fire was reported shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday and was burning near the American River bike trail, Burgess said.

Several companies remain on scene to address smoldering trees, which are both fall hazards and fire spread concerns for firefighters. There were no reported injuries to firefighters or civilians and the cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

Firefighters from Sacramento, Metro, and West Sacramento fire departments were called in to battle the fire. The wind was blowing embers across Garden Highway and firefighters were concerned it would spread to was a nearby apartment complex under construction, and that the fire would spread.

Winds were blowing burning embers across Garden Highway and threatening an apartment complex under construction, as well as, contributed to the spread of the fire

Firefighters had difficulty accessing the fire because of thick brush and fire hydrants. They also discovered several homeless camps while they were treading through.

It's not clear how the fire started.

Call The Bee's Miranda Simon, (916) 321-1119.

By Jim Wasserman and Mark Glover
jwasserman@sacbee.com

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested a 47-year-old area man today on suspicion of arson after the number of suspicious regional fires since Thursday grew to 27, a Sacramento Metro Fire District official said.

Authorities arrested Edward Martin on two counts of arson in connection with fires reported in the Florin Road area at 8:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., said Assistant Fire Chief Brian Rice.

Martin does not have a fixed address, he said.

Martin's arrest was the first related to arson fires started in recent days in South Sacramento, Del Paso Heights, North Highlands and Carmichael.

"They're not all connected together, but different sets of them are connected," said Rice. "We're trying to work hard to get the people who are doing it caught."

Martin is not a suspect in other suspicious area blazes over the past week, Rice said. There were no injuries in either small fire linked to Martin.

Sacramento fire officials said the suspicious blazes included a house fire on Diana Way, a fire at Southwoods Park near the intersection of French and Gerber roads in south Sacramento, a small fire at Foothill High School off Hillsdale Boulevard and a pair of grass fires in Del Paso Heights.

No injuries were reported in any of the fires, he said.

Call The Bee's Jim Wasserman, (916) 321-1102.

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

Firefighters responded to a series of related overnight arson fires that involved two abandoned buildings and three dumpsters near Watt Avenue and Roseville Road in North Highlands.

The first arson fire, reported at 8:16 p.m. Saturday night, burned brush and part of an abandoned building in the 4600 block of Watt Avenue, causing minor damage.

While crews were fighting that fire, a citizen reported a second fire - a dumpster behind a building on the same block.

A few hours later, firefighters returned to the dumpster area after receiving a report of a mattress fire at the scene.

Then, at about 10:20 p.m., a dumpster was set on fire in the alley at Watt Avenue and A Street, only about 200 feet from a fire station.

Today, at 5:40 a.m., fire crews responded to a reported commercial structure fire in the 5000 block of Roseville Road.

The structure, an abandoned house, had been part of a one-time business and was well involved when firefighters arrived.

There were no injuries.

The district's arson investigators believe the fires to be related. Anyone with information about them is asked to call the arson tip line at (916) 859-3775.

Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A house in Rocklin suffered extensive damage but the residents were able to escape the burning home thanks to neighbors.

The fire broke out in the 3400 block of Midas Avenue about 11 p.m. When Rocklin fire department crews got to the house flames were destroying a room addition next to the garage.

The fire had also spread into the attic. The home sustained significant damage as heavy tile on the roof fell into the structure.

Two people in the home, alerted to the fire by neighbors, were able to safely get out of the residence, said Battalion Chief Tim Palmer.

Firefighters were able to salvage a good portion of the homeowner's property.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Matt Weiser
mweiser@sacbee.com

A 4-year-old boy is in critical condition at Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California after being rescued from a burning apartment today.

Sacramento Metro Fire District firefighters responded to the 3100 block of El Camino Avenue just after 11 a.m. They broke through a window to rescue the boy.

The victim wasn't breathing completely on his own when firefighters found him. He was wrapped in blankets.

"It really prevented any thermal burns to his skin," said Assistant Fire Chief Brian Rice. His injuries appeared to be respiratory, Rice said.

The boy is in critical condition, but appeared to be stabilizing, Rice said.

The fire at the El Camino Apartments appears to be accidental, Rice said. Damage was estimated at about $100,000.

Call The Bee's Matt Weiser, (916) 321-1264.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Another fire erupted at a home in Woodland where a suspicious blaze was reported earlier in the week.

The fire this morning was reported in an unoccupied home in the 1500 block of Sixth Street and was contained by firefighters.

A fire broke out shortly before midnight Tuesday at the same home. Arson investigators were called to the scene for that fire, which was labeled as suspicious in nature.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

Previous coverage:

Woodland house fire considered suspicious - Aug. 25, 2010

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A three-alarm apartment fire tonight heavily damaged the Twin Garden at 5831 Fair Oaks Blvd., a blaze that may have been started by an explosion.

The fire was reported at about 6:30 p.m. and was brought under control by 8 p.m.

One resident told The Bee that the fire was preceded by a hissing sound, then an explosion and a giant fireball.

One firefighter suffered heat-releated injuries.

An unknown number of people were evacuated.

Charles Henderson, an apartment resident, said there was an explosion, followed by a fireball.

"I heard a big hissing sound," he said. "The hissing ended with a massive fireball and explosion."

He said the hissing sound came from the area where the apartment's natural gas and power lines are.

Henderson said he had just left his apartment and was a couple of blocks away when the fire happened.

Battalion Chief Scott Cockrum of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said 10 or more units were burned. The two-story complex has approximately 35 units, Henderson said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Cockrum said.

The complex was evacuated and an unknown number of residents were displaced.

The fire apparently started on the southside of the complex and spread through the second-story units and the attics, Cockrum said.

Portions of the apartment's roof were blown across the street.

Fair Oaks Boulevard was closed south of El Camino Avenue due to the fire. The California Highway Patrol said the closure lasted until about 9 p.m.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

Bee photo by Andy Alfaro: Sac Metro firefighters vent the roof of the Twin Garden Apartments during a three-alarm blaze in Fair Oaks Wednesday.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Two barn-type outbuildings and a travel trailer were destroyed in a fire that burned about an acre in the area of Jackson Highway and Excelsior Road this afternoon.

Brian Rice, assistant chief with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, said the fire started about 1:45 p.m. Five grass companies, a water tender, a helicopter and a bulldozer responded and were able to prevent the fire from spreading to a house on the property.

Sacramento Metro firefighters were assisted by the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department, and the fire was brought under control in about 45 minutes, Rice said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Rice said foul play is not suspected.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A suspicious fire broke out shortly before midnight inside an unoccupied home in Woodland, police say.

Woodland police and fire department personnel were dispatched to a home in the 1500 block of Sixth Street. Firefighters put out the fire inside the single-family residence and arson investigators began looking into the cause of the fire.

Police say that the cause of the fire is unknown. However, the fire was labeled as suspicious in nature.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A two-alarm fire in southern Sacramento County heavily damaged two homes.

The fire broke out about 12:45 a.m. on the 8800 block of Liscarney Way near Elk Grove-Florin Road and Calvine Road. When Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District firefighters arrived on the scene, both homes were burning.

The fire went to two alarms with 8 engines, 4 trucks and 3 engines responding. Nobody was injured.

Both of the homes were close to a complete loss, a fire spokesman said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A fire burned up to the fences of a subdivision at Roseville's western edge Friday before it was contained, allowing residents who were evacuated to return to their homes.

Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Friday evening that the fire burned 434 acres of grassland. Approximately 200 firefighters from Cal Fire, the city of Roseville and agencies from throughout Placer and Sacramento counties battled the blaze.

Berlant said the fire started about 3 p.m. at Baseline Road and Watt Avenue, and the wind pushed it toward the subdivision.

Roseville police evacuated residents of 15 homes on Hayward Court, Overton Way and Littleton Lane. No structures were damaged, but Berlant said fences on the edge of the subdivision burned.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Bee Staff

San Jose firefighters today showed their mettle as rescuers when they rescued a man and his pet parrot who were both stuck in a tree.

According to a San Jose FD news release, Truck Company 13 responded to a report of a man stuck in a tree.

However, the firefighters found the man had been trying to rescue his pet parrot by having his friend winch him up into the tree with his jeep. The winch cable cut into the tree and got stuck, leaving the man stranded, according to the release. (Photo below courtesy of the San Jose FD.)

Firefighter Asha Wagner climbed the aerial ladder, put a harness on the stranded man and brought him down safely, the release states.

"The aerial was then repositioned and (firefighter) Mike Murray, aka "the bird whisperer," climbed the ladder and retrieved the frightened parrot," the release states.