2-alarm fire burns in hills east of San Jose – NBC Bay Area

Firefighters battled a blaze burning through the hills east of San Jose Monday afternoon.

The San Jose Fire Department reported the fire triggered a second alarm on Higuera Road. The structures involved in the fire are outbuildings, not homes, firefighters said.

“Suddenly I saw at the back of my property there was black smoke, I immediately left my property and rushed running,” said Sunita Singh.

Firefighters said the fire engulfed a garage housing several cars.

One person must be transported to hospital.

The fire was under control at 6:18 p.m., firefighters said.

Aerial coverage from NBC Bay Area's SkyRanger shows crews battling a fire east of San Jose.

With temperatures rising, training and collaboration between agencies is essential.

“It’s critical to make sure our firefighters train and acclimate to the weather conditions,” said Cal Fire’s Chelsea Burkett.

Cal Fire Santa Clara covers five regions in the Bay Area, including South Bay, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The last two weeks have been busy for crews, including tackling the 14,000-acre Corral Fire and the Pittsburg Fire on Sunday.

This week, Cal Fire is increasing its staffing levels.

“It depends on the incidents that we're having, we've seen a significant increase in fires recently, but it also depends on the weather forecast and what we're looking at for the future,” Burkett said.