Man accused of arson after Sacramento County grass fire burns 35 acres
By Lindsay Weber
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SACRAMENTO COUNTY, California (KCRA) — A 36-year-old man has been accused of arson after a vegetation fire in Sacramento County burned 35 acres on Monday evening, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said.
Ernesto Hernandez confessed to causing the fire with a lighter, Sac Metro Fire said. A witness reported seeing a person who matched his description running from the fire’s location and he was located nearby, Sac Metro Fire said.
The fire was reported on Jackson Road, west of Excelsior Road just after 7:30 p.m.
The fire department said the fire shifted multiple times with the wind, jumping through multiple property lines before forward progress was stopped.
Smoke from the fire was seen from downtown Sacramento and was captured on KCRA 3’s skycam.
Chief Meteorologist Mark Finan said the smoke plume was blowing toward Mather and Folsom, so residents in those areas may have been able to smell the fire.
A video from the fire department showed a helicopter drop water to douse the fire. Officials said crews also used engines and a bulldozer on the ground.
The fire department said no structures were threatened.
Hernandez was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail.
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