Los Gatos Home Saved From Fire

A home at 16171 Sunray Drive in Los Gatos was saved from a spreading vegetation fire Tuesday afternoon leaving its owner grateful for local firefighters whom she called heroes.

The blaze, which began shortly before noon, consumed an area approximately 50 foot by 10 foot, burning trees and duff causing about $1,000 in property loss, according to a Santa Clara County fire report.

It then spread to the home's backyard, located against Highway 17's northbound lanes and across the freeway, east of Vasona Lake.

"I wanted to send out a big thank-you to the Los Gatos and San Jose fire departments for saving my home," wrote the grateful homeowner who happens to be Melissa Ayr, a member of the Los Gatos Arts and Culture Commission.

"A fire ignited on Highway 17 and climbed over the retaining wall and lit my back yard a blaze. Thank you to the wonderful firefighters that helped to put out the fire before my home caught on fire," she added. "We have true heroes who live in this community and I just wanted to say thank you."

Ayr's home is also located three blocks northwest of Los Gatos Boulevard, about three miles from downtown Los Gatos.

The cause of the first fire is undetermined, but a county fire spokeswoman, who declined to be identified, said hot embers from the original blaze spread to the home igniting spot fires that affected Ayr's residence.

"It was an exposure to the first fire," she explained. "It means embers from the main fire ignited the other. They went in her backyard."

At the same time, but at a different location, another fire was reported at Highway 85 in Los Gatos burning a 75 foot by 10 foot strip of vegetation. The cause of this blaze and its heat source are undetermined, the report said.