Uh Oh! Big Fire

Left: First view, about 5:46 p.m. PDT, behind Sierra Research, at 18th and J Street, Sacramento.









About 5:48 p.m. PDT, at 19th and J Street, Sacramento.



















About 5:52 p.m. PDT, off of 19th Street, between T and V Streets, Sacramento (The elongated white building is the Ron Cisneros Dance Studio).


It looks like the big fire did some major damage.

A dramatic evening fire Thursday along the American River Parkway near Cal Expo destroyed a Union Pacific mainline track, sending billowing black smoke thousands of feet into the blue skies, and disrupting train traffic through the Central Valley.

The hot-burning fire, first reported at 5:41 p.m., quickly consumed about 600 feet of heavy-duty trestle timber and tracks in a secluded section of the American River Parkway, just north of the American River.

Slowed by the lack of traditional access to water in the area, firefighters from the Sacramento City Fire Department and Sacramento Metro Fire District relied on relay-pumping from hydrants in developed areas on the north side of the parkway levee near Cal Expo.

As night fell and firefighting continued, the blaze was toppling burned sections of the 25-foot-high rail trestle and showed little sign of dying down.

Union Pacific officials confirmed Thursday night that the destroyed track was one of the company's main freight lines between Sacramento and points east, as well as a major passenger corridor for local commuter and long-distance trains.

The blaze forced Amtrak to halt a westbound train from Reno to Sacramento, George Elsmore, railroad operations and safety program manager for the California Public Utilities Commission, told the Associated Press. It threatened to cause further disruptions, he said.

...Thursday night at the scene, Sacramento Fire Department Capt. Jim Doucette said officials did not yet know the cause of the fire, although there were some early reports that a portion of the trestle had been pushed upward, as if there had been an explosion.

"Way too early to figure that out," Doucette said. "We're shuttling water back and forth, and we're making some headway."

However, he said, "The whole bridge will be a loss. I fully expect it to collapse."

UP spokesman James Barnes said there were no initial reports of injuries and there was no train on the tracks at the fire site.

"It certainly is one of our main lines," Barnes said. "We are anticipating that the trestle will not survive. The important thing now is to get that fire under control and out, and then we can better assess the situation. We won't know for several hours what that means in terms of rerouting (frieght trains)."

The fire on the trestle, several hundred yards west of the Capitol City Freeway, caused backups for several miles during the late evening rush hour. The smoke plume was reportedly seen from 50 miles away.

The question I'm sure everyone will have is why did the railway trestle catch on fire in such a spectacular way? On Channel 10 (or was it Channel 3?) they said the trestle was built in 1910. Apparently the trestle carried fiber optics lines, and (I heard somewhere) a propane line. In addition, a natural gas pipeline passes beneath the American River in the immediate vicinity.

Presumably there was an explosion in the propane gas line that quickly spread fire along the trestle. But why? Natural metal fatigue from aging? Some subtle mechanical stress? Sabotage?

If the explosion resulted from terrorism it would have been as easy as pie for the malefactors to study this sensitive urban site, since the area is heavily wooded and sees lots of traffic, from the bike path running along the American River, and under the trestle, as well as numerous other foot paths and roads.

We'll see what the investigators dig up, once they get the fire under control!