Pickup suspected in grass fires off Hwy. 101 in Windsor

Hot metal pieces shooting from the exhaust of a full-size pickup likely caused numerous grass fires off Highway 101 in Windsor Monday afternoon, firefighters said.

The broken-down truck was spotted around 3:45 p.m. on the Arata Lane off-ramp on north Highway 101, said Cyndi Foreman, spokeswoman for Rincon Valley and Windsor Fire Protection Districts.

“There was an obvious malfunction,” Foreman said. “With catalytic converter problems little pieces of metal get heated up in the system and then out the tail pipe.”

By the time authorities doubled back to the white pickup, it was gone, leaving a trail of spot fires from central Windsor to the Arata Lane exit, Foreman said. Flames were controlled within a half-hour. Firefighters stayed until after 5 p.m., mopping up any remaining hot spots, Foreman said.

“This was truly an accidental fire,” she said. “But we want to get the vehicle off the road.”

Anyone with any information on the white pickup should call the Rincon Valley and Windsor Fire Protection Districts at 707-838-1170.

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim.