Firefighters Douse Sunday Morning Brush Blaze Near Home Depot

San Rafael firefighters contained a brush fire that gobbled up one-quarter of an acre of vegetation behind the 3000 block of Kerner Blvd. near Home Depot early Sunday morning, Fire Chief Chris Gray say.

Firefighters were called to the scene shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday on a report of a brush fire in the area of Kerner and Bellam boulevards. Firefighters found a fire that – aided by wind and dry fuel such as pampas grass – had spread to one quarter of an acre, Gray said.

The fire was located to the rear of 3020 Kerner Blvd., he said, and the effort to contain it was hindered by the thick clusters of pampas grass and dense vegetation.

Gray said the cause of this fire is under investigation, though it appears to have started in a homeless encampment. The area saw a rash of similar fires in 2012, but they have subsided of late due to increased security patrols, he said.

Gray issued a reminder that camping is not permitted in the open-space areas in and around San Rafael and is very dangerous.