Cause unclear on small Calaveras Park fire

The cause was unknown for a small fire at Calaveras Park next to an elementary school in mid-July, a fire official said Thursday.

“It was pretty uneventful fire, if you really want to know,” Battalion Chief Charlie Bedolla said of the July 13 fire that started around 8 a.m.

The fire was to a small garbage can melted to the ground when fire crews arrived, Bedolla said. The garbage can was located next to a part of the gazebo, part of which also burned, in Calaveras Park neighboring Calaveras School. He said the custodians on scene extinguished most of it.

He said the cause was unclear.

“A lot of times people don’t dispose of their cigarettes the right way,” he said, clarifying it’s unclear what started this particular fire.

The Hollister School District at the recent board meeting honored two custodians who helped to quell the fire. Director of Facilities John Teliha commended Jesse Ortiz and Jose Delgado for the effort.

According to the school official at the board meeting:

Ortiz and Delgado noticed smoke coming from the picnic area and thought it was possibly someone setting up for a cookout of some kind.

“Then they realized this was not the case and found that there was a fire within the gazebo itself,” Teliha told trustees at the July 24 board meeting.

The lead custodian dialed 911 while the other retrieved a fire extinguisher from the school library and attempted to put it out.

The district at the meeting commended the two custodians with a certificate.