Firefighters investigate cause of fire that spread to multiple buildings in San Jose – NBC Bay Area

San Jose Fire Department officials are trying to determine what sparked a fire over the weekend that spread to four homes and several sheds.

Neighbors then tried to bring order to the chaotic scene, in which many tried to prevent the fire from spreading to their homes.

It started around 5 p.m. on Sunday when two houses in San José went up in flames.

But then a gusty wind carried the embers a few blocks south, setting fire to a palm tree and then other nearby houses and sheds.

“I went outside and when I got to the sidewalk here, I turned around and was immediately hit by the embers of the tree,” said Sam Montez of San Jose.

He saw embers flying into his and his neighbor’s backyard – one of them even caused burns to his neck.

But he climbed onto the roof to spray as much water as he could with the garden hose.

“I’m just glad no one was hurt,” he said. “My main concern was to protect as many people as possible.”

Gilbert Aguirre lives next door and said he was glad the effort saved his home — but the two sheds and back fence he built with his own hands years ago were not spared.

“This is so disappointing. I was in shock. I’m still a little bit in shock about what happened,” Aguirre said.

The house behind her house was also charred.

In total, four houses were damaged or destroyed and three sheds were destroyed.

“It was a very difficult fire for our firefighters. We are very relieved that they came out of it without any injuries,” said Robert Sapien, chief of the San Jose Fire Department. “They worked hard to get into every home and make sure the residents were evacuated.”

Nobody was seriously injured.

Firefighters know the fire started in the garage of one of the two homes that first caught fire, but the cause is still under investigation.