Salida blaze destroys sheds behind home

SALIDA --

A fire buffeted by high winds and dry grass destroyed at least five storage sheds behind a home in Salida late Friday morning.

The blaze at 3901 Finney Road started north of the property, and a cause has not yet been determined, said Battalion Chief Cecil Ridge of the Modesto Regional Fire Authority.

Ridge said somebody was discing weeds to the north of the property, but could not confirm if that played a role.

Nobody was injured in the roughly four-acre fire, and there was no damage to the home or garage.

Homeowner Richie Gotelli was having a yard sale in the front and was taking a break on the back patio when he smelled smoke.

"Something told me something was going to happen because of that dry grass when they were out there cutting," he said. "All of a sudden, I smelled smoke. I saw flames. They started about 500 to 600 feet in the middle of that field (to the north)."

He said he ran to two people on the property discing the land; they thought the machinery might have hit a rock and sparked the blaze. He said they told him they had called a fire department.

Gotelli ran back to the house and grabbed an extinguisher and a hose to try to keep the flames from reaching the buildings on his property.

However, by that time, the fire was fast approaching. Gotelli fought as hard as he could before he was overcome by smoke and flames being pushed by warm winds reaching about 25 mph.

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Salida blaze destroys sheds behind home