News Briefs
Grass fire burns near highway
A fire that started when a man threw a flaming bag of polyurethane dust out of his truck, burned two acres of grass on a hill next to Highway 17 across from the Lexington Reservoir on Aug. 24.
Capt. Mike Wemp from the California Department of Forestry said the fire was starting to creep up to a house on top of the hill.
"We got here just in time," he said.
According to Wemp, the man pulled over on the highway when a paper bag of dust in the back of his truck spontaneously combusted. The man had the bag of dust since he had been sanding a hard wood floor. He tried to smother the fire with a tarp, to no avail.
A driver passing the scene around 5:30 p.m. called 911 and within minutes, some 20 fire- fighters from the Department of Forestry and the Santa Clara County Fire Department arrived on the scene, putting the fire out within 10 minutes, Wemp said.
Helicopter 106 from the department of forestry's Alma Station was used to put out the fire.
Community plans a Bloom-A-Thon
More than 2,000 daffodil and hyacinth bulbs will be planted throughout Los Gatos on Sept. 17, as part of the town's first-ever Bloom-A-Thon.
The Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee, Congregation Shir Hadash, Los Gatos sites of the county fire department, Club Live, community volunteers and the parks and public works department will all participate in the planting.
Volunteers are asked to bring gloves and a trowel, and meet at the Shir Hadash parking lot at 16555 Shannon Road at 9 a.m. For information on how to become involved, call Malaina
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
