A fast-moving grass fire tore through dry brush near Senter and Story roads in east San Jose yesterday, tossing a thick plume of smoke over nearby neighborhoods as fire crews rushed in to keep the flames from spreading.
Aerial footage captured by NBC Bay Area showed flames racing through vegetation and scorching roughly three acres. The fire sparked close to a May Day demonstration in the city, although officials had not said whether there was any connection between the two.
How common are grass fires here?
Vegetation fires make up a relatively small slice of San José’s overall emergency calls, but they can escalate quickly once late-spring grasses dry out. According to the city’s public incident records, San José has logged about 1,254 vegetation-fire entries, representing roughly 0.6% of recorded calls, a reminder that even a few acres of burning brush can pull in multiple units. The figures come from OpenData San Jose…