Welding Blamed For Sunday Brush Fire

A man doing some welding on a hot and dry day at the Rankin Ranch, at Old Don Pedro Road near the lake, started a brush fire around 2 Sunday afternoon, when officials say he dropped his arc welder in a field.

That fire burned 80 acres in all, and was contained around 5:30pm.

12 fire engines, four hand crews, four air tankers and three helicopters worked to put out the blaze, along with a pair of water tenders and a pair of bulldozers.

CDF officials said the man with the welder was cited and will also be billed for the response.

Also, between 15 and 20 acres of grass and brush burned in Amador County at Gold Beach near the Consumas River.

Officials said once the fire was contained, little mop-up was necessary, due to the hot and dry conditions. There´s still no word on the cause.

A young person in the Bar XX area knocked over a barbecue by pulling a garden hose yesterday afternoon. That fire only burned an area of a few square feet.

And a family´s 1991-model travel trailer burned on Longeway Road around 5pm yesterday. The investigation is still underway, but officials say electrical wires behind the RV´s refrigerator may be to blame.