Generator reportedly sparks brush fire in Morgan Hill; several homes burned
MORGAN HILL (KPIX) -- A brush fire in Morgan Hill that authorities believe was sparked by a resident using a generator burned several homes Tuesday.
The fire burned near the Morgan Hill-San Jose border, near Dougherty Avenue and Live Oak around 9 p.m.
According to one of the homeowners, power in the area had been out since 4:30 p.m. and a neighbor was using a generator on his property. The homeowner said the generator caught the grass on fire at the neighbor's home, which then spread to his property.
The fire destroyed three mobile homes and a number of outbuildings. The fire also spread to a nearby commercial property, Old Castle Infrastructure. It's a pre-cast concrete fabricator that makes retaining and sound walls.
Crews had to truck water into the scene due to the lack of any nearby hydrants in the rural area, slowing work. It took dozens of firefighters almost two hours to get the fire contained.
A battalion chief on scene told KPIX 5 the area is rural and there weren't any fire hydrants nearby, which was a limiting factor for firefighters. The battalion chief said firefighters will be on scene all night putting out hotspots.
Crews were to remain through the night putting out hotspots.
Some 24,000 PG&E customers were without power in the Bay Area, Tuesday night. According to the utility, the outage affected more than 9,000 households in the South Bay.
