Lost Wheel Sparks Fires Along Highway

A motorist pulling a spark-producing trailer was to blame for a string of fires along Highway 49 that blocked traffic for two hours Tuesday.

At about noon, according to the Nevada County Consolidated Fire District, a motor-home driver from Antioch was pulling a trailer carrying two all-terrain vehicles northbound between Pekolee Drive and Lime Kiln Road.

The trailer's right wheel fell off, and the trailer axle rubbed against the highway asphalt, creating sparks that danced into the nearby vegetation, Consolidated Battalion Chief Spike Newby said.

The sparks started a combined five fires that consumed 15 acres of vegetation, Newby said.

Two of the fires burned together and were doused with retardant from a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection air tanker.

Newby said the driver was oblivious to the fires until another motorist waved him to the roadside about a half mile from where the wheel fell off. The driver apparently was on his way to pick up his granddaughter in Grass Valley for a trip to Tehama County.

CDF investigated the fires, but a dispatcher with the agency said the chief investigator wouldn't release the driver's name. The dispatcher said it's unlikely the driver will be cited, because it was an accident, but he could be required to pay part of the firefighting costs.

Newby said it's not uncommon for roadway sparks to cause vegetation fires. The recent Lake Berryessa fire began in similar fashion and ended up consuming 5,700 acres, Newby said.

"The thing is, the mechanical condition of your equipment can lead to these types of situations," Newby said.

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