Cause Undetermined in Pair of Grass Fires

Two fires have erupted within the last five days along Grove Street near El Verano and in both cases the cause of the fires has been undetermined.

Sonoma Fire Marshal Alan Jones said fire investigators have been at the scene of the latest fire, , since 9 a.m. this morning.

“We did an extensive investigation and we weren’t able to determine the cause,” he said. “We didn’t find anything in the actual investigation, the cause of the fire is a great concern. In both cases the cause wasn’t determined."

Jones stopped short of calling the fires arson, or suspicious because there were no findings to support those conclusions, but said that the frequency and location of the fire does raise concerns among Sonoma fire crews.

On Wednesday, Sonoma firefighters went to a dead-end stretch of Grove Street near El Verano, in response to a call about a grass fire. Crews converged at the scene from as far away as Marin County, and helped extinguish the flames.

The lack of moisture within the fuel of the fire, the dried vegetation, brought up some challenges for the firefighters, Jones said, along with the heat and low humidity.

“There was the advantage that this one area was surrounded by a vineyard and they act as good fire breaks,” he said. “There was the advantage of having the vineyard nearby.”

On Saturday, Sonoma firefighters responded to a fire near the same location at 6 p.m., a vegetation fire that was similar to Wednesday's.

On June 1 of this year, to a vegetation fire on Carriger Rd., about one mile north of yesterday's fire.

Jones reminds Sonoma residents that fire season is in full swing and they can assist in reducing the risk of fires by adhering to weed abatement rules. The recommended amount of defensible space to have for any structure within low-fire risk areas such as all the territories within the valley floor is 30 feet around the building. In high fire danger zones, near the foothills, it’s 100 feet.

“It’s good to have a nearby water supply,” he said, adding that the manner in which the weeds are mowed needs to be taken into consideration.

A fire can start with a spark (metal blade against rock) and so people should be aware of this and exercise some caution, Jones said. Not smoking in areas that present a potential for a fire is also a good practice, he said.

Although Sonoma firefighters cannot determine the cause of the fire, and arson cannot be proven, Sonoma fire investigators will continue to monitor the area and keep a tally of the incidents throughout the district.

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