By Toni Scott
The Oroville Mercury Register
BANGOR, Calif. — Exactly one week after a lawn mower started a blaze in the Lemon Hill area of Oroville, an individual completing brush work Monday afternoon may have sparked a blaze that burned five acres near Bangor.
At 3:20 p.m., a resident came into the Bangor Fire Station to report a blaze on Avocado Road and Orange Avenue near Oro Bangor Highway.
The fire station is approximately a half-mile from where the blaze originated.
Cal Fire-Butte County Batallion Chief Mike Brown said a full wildfire response team immediately attacked the fire, with multiple Cal Fire-Butte County engines, a bulldozer, an inmate hand crew, a helicopter and an engine from Yuba County responding to the hillside of grass and oak woodland.
“We had a whole buffet of resources on the fire,” Brown said.
The quick response by firefighters and downhill direction of the blaze allowed firefighters to effectively manage the flames, with the fire contained within 30 minutes of the initial report.
“The firefighters did a great job,” Brown said. “This is a good example of a fire being caught with the first alarm.”
Although a fire investigator was not immediately on the scene to release the official cause of the blaze, a John Deere lawnmower could be seen parked near the charred grass and firefighters were talking with an individual who was completing yard work at the time the fire ignited.
With the fire suspected as started by someone completing yard work, Brown reminded residents once again to take extra caution during the summer months when using any lawn power tools.
“We always encourage residents to complete yard work in the morning,” Brown said. “Even on a day as calm and mild as today, a fire can start.”
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