Watch CBS News

Fireworks Suspected As Cause Of South Bay Blaze

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – A small grass fire Monday night in San Jose has fire crews on the ready, as officials said it may have been sparked by fireworks.

Around 9:30 Monday night, four individuals were seen running from the scene of a fire in San Jose's Silver Creek area.

"All indications point to fireworks. The crews on scene did find fireworks at the point of origin," said San Jose fire Capt. Mary Gutiterrez.

KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:

The grass fire was controlled within minutes, but Gutierrez said that this is one of the reasons the department deploys extra fire engines on the 4th of July.

"These mobile fire engines are going to patrol the city, especially areas that have a lot of grass and areas that have high volumes of fireworks-related incidents," she said.

San Jose City Councilmember Ash Kalra said they are trying to communicate to parents that fireworks – even the safe ones – are illegal.

"Oftentimes unfortunately it's the parents that buy the fireworks," Kalra said. "And they light them with the kids or let the children go out on their own unsupervised."

The city is also canceling fire station brownouts on Independence Day.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.