Fire damaged four homes, multiple outbuildings, fences and power lines in the 7900 block of 34th Avenue in south Sacramento on Tuesday, September 6, 2016. There were no injuries and the cause is under investigation, the Sacramento Fire Department said. Sacramento Fire @SacFirePIO
By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
A blaze believed to have started as a backyard grass fire damaged four homes in a south Sacramento neighborhood late Tuesday afternoon.
The two-alarm blaze was initially reported as a grass fire at a home in the 7900 block of 34th Avenue about 4:30 p.m., said Chris Harvey, Sacramento Fire Department spokesman.
When firefighters arrived, they saw that it had spread to fences, trees and nearby residences. In addition to the house where the fire started, two homes on 79th Street and one on 33rd Avenue were damaged. Harvey said investigators had not determined the extent of the damage to the homes or the cause of the fire.
There were no injuries.
Manida Oriyavong said the side of her house on 33rd Avenue was singed. She was not home when the fire started. She said her neighbors grabbed garden hoses and attacked the flames until firefighters arrived.
“I’m so glad they did that,” she said.
The fire did not spread to the inside of the house, and Oriyavong said she expected to be able to remain in her home.
Gerardo Prieto said he was inside his house on 79th Street watching a movie when the power went out. He went outside and saw people pointing behind his house.
“I looked back and saw black clouds of smoke,” Prieto said. His house was not damaged.