Smoke fills city during nearby grass fire Smoke fills city during nearby grass fire (July 30, 2004)

No one injured in two-alarm blaze on San Antonio Road

By Jon Wiener

A two-alarm brush fire along Palo Alto's western border lifted a plume of smoke that wafted over Mountain View Monday afternoon.

Mountain View firefighters helped put out the blaze, along the 1100 block of San Antonio Road east of Highway 101. No one was hurt, despite the proximity of several office buildings.

Lynn Brown, spokesperson for the Mountain View Fire Department, said he was driving back from Sunnyvale around lunchtime on Monday when he noticed that the air was unusually smoky. The fire department received several calls Monday about the smoke from throughout the city, he said.

According to Brown, dry vegetation raises the fire danger this time of year, but Mountain View does not face the same risk as suburban areas that have gone up in flames in recent years.

"We're fortunate," said Brown. "We don't have a lot of the urban-wildland interface. We're surrounded by cities."

Palo Alto fire officials had not determined the cause of the fire by press time on Wednesday. A similar brush fire in early July near Highways 85 and 237 was likely caused by a cigarette thrown from a passing car, Brown said.

Mountain View sent two fire engines, a truck and a rescue vehicle to assist the Palo Alto unit. Twelve local firefighters responded to the calls as part of the mutual aid agreement between Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. Last October, Mountain View sent firefighters to San Diego to help control the fires there.

"One of the things it shows is how we do have a good mutual aid system," said Brown. "If something happens in Mountain View, we can count on Palo Alto and Sunnyvale."

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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