Video shows 2 running from fire near Folsom Lake, witness believes it started from firework

Two people were caught on camera leaving the scene of a Folsom grass fire Saturday evening.

The video shows a small fire on a hillside of thick, dry brush and two people running, then riding away. It happened at the Browns Ravine trailhead just below Folsom Lake.

While the official cause is still under investigation, witnesses say it began with a firework.

"It definitely makes you panic to see it happen so fast," said Theresa Neustadter, who recorded the video. 

Neustadter was enjoying her evening near the Browns Ravine trailhead when all of a sudden she heard a bang.

"I just crossed the levee, and I immediately saw the two young boys running into the grass," she said. "There were two spot fires that were probably about 10 feet apart, and they both had fixated on one and were jumping on it to try to get it out."

She believed it was from a firework. She said after the fire got out of control, the two hopped on their bikes and sped off.

"As they're running away, it's the panic of, oh wow, well this fire is now spreading pretty quickly, and I'm up here, and there are other people still out on the levee, and so you just start panicking about what do you do, right?" Neustadter said.

Neustadter said the fire spread rapidly along the dry brush and was made only larger by the wind.

"It's not just the ground spread; it's the embers that are flying and then catching things on fire," Neustadter said.

She said fire crews arrived quickly. Folsom Fire, along with Cal Fire and El Dorado Hills Fire, all arrived on scene and put out the blaze before it could spread farther.

"Anytime you have multiple agencies responding to an incident, that's a drain on the local ability," said Folsom Fire Battalion Chief Shawn Luce. "Those impacts, while they cannot always be predicted, they are real as far as, you know, having to send a different unit to another emergency that comes up."

Days away from the holiday, even safe and sane fireworks are now illegal, prompting neighbors and fire crews to send out a message.

"It's a very small window of opportunity to safely and legally use fireworks," Luce said. "So anything outside of those parameters would be illegal use of fireworks. Include, you know, even if they are safe and sane fireworks."

"It shouldn't be allowed right next to open grassland like that, you know. And just people need to be smarter about that," Neustadter said.

Any fireworks that leave the ground and explode in Folsom can result in fines up to $5,000 per violation.