SAN JOSE – Firefighters on Wednesday afternoon battled a series of small vegetation fires near Interstate 280 and Meridian Avenue in San Jose, authorities said.
The fires were reported just before 4 p.m.
Firefighters were “getting good knockdown” on the fires as of 5:15 p.m. and had them under control roughly 20 minutes later, the fire department said in a series of tweets.
The fire department said one vehicle was destroyed. The cause of the fires is under investigation.
Traffic was impacted by the blazes. Firefighters closed the right lane of southbound I-280 at Race Street, KCBS Radio reported. Southbound traffic was backed up from Lawrence Expressway and northbound traffic was backed up from State Route 87.
This #SanJose #BrushFire is affecting #Hwy280 Southbound at #Race St. where the Fire Dept is blocking the right lane. Traffic is backed up from #LawrenceExpy. 280 Northbound is backing up from #Hwy87. #KCBSTraffic
📷: @AlertWildfire pic.twitter.com/esw2ratJto— KCBS Radio – The Traffic Leader (@KCBSAMFMTraffic) June 16, 2021
Firefighters cleared the scene by 6:45 p.m.
Firefighters battled a similar blaze earlier in the day. At about 12:20 p.m., a vegetation fire was reported in the cloverleaf at Interstate 680 and McKee Road. The fire department said the blaze was under control as of 2 p.m. No injuries were reported.
The fires broke out as a searing heat wave descended on the Bay Area and stoked fire danger to perilously high levels. San Jose topped out at 89 degrees. The hot spell was expected to intensify Thursday, with the National Weather Service issuing a heat advisory for most of the region through 9 p.m. Friday.
Check back for updates.
