Firefighters douse one-acre blaze near Monte Rio

Local firefighters, an inmate crew and a Cal Fire air tanker put out a 1-acre blaze that likely sparked at a homeless camp Wednesday morning, Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman said.

Reports of smoke at about 11 a.m. sent crews searching for the fire, which was located on a parcel of land off Bohemian Highway south of Monte Rio, Baxman said.

Firefighters with Cal Fire, the Sonoma County Fire District and the Monte Rio Fire Protection District, as well as an inmate crew, were sent to douse the flames, a task that took about five hours, Baxman said.

A Cal Fire air tanker and helicopter also helped put out the fire, which burned through brush and timber, he said.

Firefighters traced the blaze to an unattended fire at a homeless camp, the fifth of its kind in the area over the past two months, Baxman said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.