The Cupertino Courier

News

Crews battle a wildfire in hills above Cupertino

By Crystal Lu

A wildfire burned more than 150 acres in a canyon near Montebello and Stevens Canyon roads in Cupertino on Aug. 30.

The fire forced the evacuation of more than 20 homes, but residents were allowed to return to their homes the next morning.

Approximately 350 firefighters backed by more than 40 fire engines, seven bulldozers, five air tankers, and four helicopters responded to the wildfire. Four injured firefighters were sent to Valley Medical Center for treatment.

An investigation on the cause of the fire is under way.

Among the firefighters were 170 inmates, according to Lt. Ray Stewart, camp commander of Delta Conservation Camp, which is part of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Stewart, who supervised the arrival of the inmate firefighters, said there are 4,400 inmate firefighters in California.

4-alarm fire destroys apartments

A four-alarm fire destroyed a four-unit apartment building in West San Jose on Aug. 29, near the border of Cupertino and Saratoga. Reported at 5:45 p.m., the fire on Brookvale Drive near Prospect Road burned the top floors most extensively and the bottom floors suffered water damage.

No residents were injured, but one firefighter was treated at a hospital for back injuries, said Craig Schwinge, San Jose Fire Department spokesman. "It appears to have started outside and then migrated to the interior,'' said Schwinge. The cause is under investigation.

Joel Hinojoso, who lives in the building, fought the flames with water from a garden hose, said his wife Karen, who watched the firefighters with her son Alexander, 15, who was holding the family cat.