Firefighters investigating series of suspicious grass fires in south Merced

A 1-acre grass fire on the side of Highway 99 Friday afternoon in Merced was contained before any people were injured or structures threatened. But it’s still concerning to fire officials.

The fire was the latest in a series of grass fires in the area that investigators have deemed suspicious, Merced City Fire Battalion Chief Cory Haas said.

“There have been (at least) three similar fires” in the last several weeks Haas said, adding investigators have ruled out natural causes, but can’t speculate as to whether there is an arsonist.

Friday’s fire spread quickly on the hill north of 15th Street leading up to the highway, near the overpass and a homeless shelter. Smoke from the fire was seen by motorists on Highway 99.

The shelter wasn’t evacuated, Haas said, but the fire never made it that far and anyone in the building would have been safer from the smoke inside.

That fire comes just five weeks after another suspicious fire burned the highway hillside just across 15th Street, Haas said.

This story was originally published August 16, 2019 at 5:26 PM.