Crew extinguishes Monte Rio brush fire with pool water

Monte Rio firefighters tapped water from an in-ground pool to put out a controlled burn that had escaped on Friday.

Residents had been burning brush near their home on Bonita Vista Terrace when the wind picked up and the blaze spread to about a quarter-acre, Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman said. Firefighters responded to the blaze just before 3 p.m. and were able to extinguish it in minutes, he said.

“Luckily there was a swimming pool with water,” Baxman said, adding they used a portable pump to get about 1,000 or so gallons of water out of the pool.

“We’ve done it before,” he said. “It was the closest water source.”