Dumpster fire at View Side school

About 22 students of View Side Academy, located at 1012 Linda Vista Ave., were evacuated from the county continuation school’s play area Monday, after a fire broke out in a nearby dumpster, police said.

“We’ll probably never know,” said Liz Wylie, spokeswoman for the Mountain View Police Department, about the cause of the fire which was reported at 11:25 a.m. on Aug. 30. Police are not classifying the fire as arson. Wylie said it was likely ignited due to negligent behavior, such as someone throwing a lit cigarette into the dumpster.

“Dumpsters don’t just catch on fire,” Wylie said.

Firefighters extinguished the flames, which singed the leaves and branches of nearby trees. None of the students interviewed claimed to know anything about the cause of the blaze.