Business 80 traffic cleared after grass fire near Sacramento's Cal Expo

SACRAMENTO — Company 80 was closed as firefighters battled a grass fire near Cal Expo Sunday afternoon in Sacramento.

The Sacramento Fire Department said the fire burned about three acres down to the highway.

Justin Sylvia, public information officer for the fire department, said very dense vegetation made it difficult to get hoses and engines to the fire.

Sylvia said the black smoke people could see was not only coming from burning grass and vegetation, but also from burning homeless camps.

Investigators responded because there were people of interest in the homeless encampment, Sylvia said. Investigators will also interview witnesses to determine if the fire was started accidentally or intentionally.

You could see helicopters making water drops on the water. Sylvia said the helicopter helped due to the difficulty of accessing the fire and the fact that there were no fire hydrants in the area.

Traffic on Business 80 came to a stop around 4:45 p.m. at Exposition Boulevard for southbound traffic and near the American River Bridge for northbound travelers. About 30 minutes later, traffic began flowing in both directions.

No injuries were reported.