FOOTHILLS FIRE 75 PERCENT CONTAINED
The blaze, which started on Tuesday, continues to threaten homes in the East San Jose foothills
As Hank Selke on Wednesday surveyed the aftermath of a roaring wildfire that destroyed a neighbor’s home in the East San Jose foothills the night before, he knew it could have been worse, much worse.
“It didn’t sink in until this morning,” Selke said. “We feel very fortunate somehow it skipped our house.”
The flames that ignited at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday came within 20 feet of Selke’ s home on Claitor Way, but firefighters managed to save it.
The fast-moving blaze has so far burned 120 acres in the rural, hilly slopes in the area of Lariat Lane and Claitor Way and was 75 percent contained as of Wednesday evening. The Lariat fire was not expected to be fully contained until Thursday. Two other homes were damaged in the blaze.
One firefighter was treated for a minor injury at a hospital. Two others also were hurt but remained at the fire line.
Of the 40 homes near the fire, 11 were evacuated Tuesday. Residents were allowed to return later that night when the structures were no longer in danger, said San Jose fire Capt. Brad Cloutier. The fire prompted the opening of the Berryessa Community Center as an evacuation site, which seven people visited Tuesday.
“We had crews looking at hot spots and keeping an eye on the outside fire lines all last night, and we’re going to have people up there today trying to get us to 100 percent containment,” Cloutier said Wednesday.
Cloutier credited the efforts of firefighters who directed the fire around Selke’s house and up the hillside.
“Fire crews did a really good job,” he said. “That fire was moving really fast. Flame lengths
“We had crews looking at hot spots and keeping an eye the outside fire lines all last night, and we’re going to have people up there today trying to get us to 100 percent containment.” — San Jose fire Capt. Brad Cloutier
were really long. It was a pretty intense battle to get the fire around those homes and up the hillside, where we could start chasing it.”
Selke said he knows the neighbors whose home was destroyed by the fire and described them as “a wonderful, nice family, and I’m going to respect their privacy.” The family will be offered temporary housing by the American Red Cross.
In addition to evacuating homes, authorities cleared Alum Rock Park of visitors. The city of San Jose also activated its Emergency Operations Center at 5:30 p.m. to support firefighters. It was closed at 9 p.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, Cloutier said.
The blaze followed another blaze — the Felipe fire — that burned 70 acres in the hills southeast of San Jose Monday before it was fully contained Tuesday. The cause was traced to a sports car that burst into flames near San Felipe and Metcalf roads, said Cal Fire spokeswoman Pam Temmermand.
The fires are part of a string of blazes across the state, fueled by timber and brush parched from a yearslong dry spell and thick grass that grew after droughtbusting winter downpours.