Sacramento firefighters respond to multiple suspicious fires along American River Parkway

Sacramento firefighters have responded to multiple fires along the American River Parkway near Northgate Boulevard over the past week, with investigators suspecting the fires may have been human-caused.

With public safety power shutoffs underway across much of the region, fire crews are closely monitoring the situation, warning that even small grass fires can quickly spread under dangerous fire conditions.

Sacramento Fire Department crews responded to six or seven fires in the area Tuesday, at least two Wednesday, and another Thursday, Captain Justin Sylvia said.

"Originally we responded to a grass fire, and once that crew got on scene they noticed ahead of them was another fire, so they quickly put out one and went to the next. Right when they got to that one, they noticed two to three more fires," Sylvia said.

Firefighters are using thermal-imaging drones and deploying additional resources to locate and extinguish the fires, which are in an area that can be difficult to access.

"There are also no fire hydrants out there. It makes things challenging and it ties up a lot of resources when we have multiple sets like this. I call them sets because they definitely look suspicious in nature," Sylvia said.

Fire officials believe the fires were likely started by people, but determining whether they were intentionally set can be difficult without direct evidence.

"You need someone over there watching someone put fire on the ground or lighting something on fire and we don't have anything like that. There are no cameras along the parkway," Sylvia said.

Park rangers are increasing patrols along the river and contacting people who may be illegally camping in the area, Sylvia said.

He warned that cooler weather associated with fall does not necessarily mean fire danger has subsided.

"Just because it's fall doesn't mean that the temperatures are gonna cool down and the fuels are gonna get a lot of moisture again. We're still seeing very critical fire situations," Sylvia said.

The repeated fires are also putting additional pressure on firefighting resources at a time when crews are focused on elevated fire risks across the region.

"We don't like to see this activity because it just destroys an asset that we have right here in Sacramento," Sylvia said.