Cal Fire Investigating Cause Of Silicon Fire

By Jana Kadah, Bay City News Foundation

SAN JOSE, CA — Cal Fire is investigating the cause of the Silicon Fire that broke out late Monday morning in San Jose.

Both Cal Fire and the San Jose Fire Department responded to the blaze, which started around 11:15 a.m. in the area of Silicon Valley Boulevard and Basking Ridge Avenue. The fire quickly grew to 35 acres before being contained at around 3:30 p.m., a Cal Fire spokesperson confirmed.

Around noon, PG&E responded to the site of the fire on report that metallic balloons came into contact with transmission lines, PG&E spokesperson Mayra Tostado said.

Metallic balloons conduct electricity extremely well which can overload power lines — potentially leading to outages and fires.

San Jose firefighters reported seeing powerlines arching, fire department spokesperson Erica Ray said, suggesting it may be related to the blaze, but she did not confirm the cause of the fire.

PG&E and Cal Fire also did not confirm the transmission lines were the cause of the fire.

The cause was still under investigation as of 4:30 p.m., according to Cal Fire.

There were no reported structural damages or evacuations and warnings were not issued.

Copyright © 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.