Failed transformer sparks Santa Rosa fire

A failed electrical transformer started a vegetation fire in Howarth Park in Santa Rosa late Wednesday night, a fire battalion chief said.

The fire was reported around 10:40 p.m. on Summerfield Road just north of Medica Road, Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Ken Sebastiani said. Firefighters found a power pole and a 50-by-75-foot area of cut grass and brush on fire.

Firefighters extinguished the fire within 15 minutes but electric power was out in the area for about two hours. The cause was the failed electrical transformer, Sebastiani said.

Firefighters were able to quickly contain and control the fire because the grass on the city-owned parcel had a recent seasonal cutting, Sebastiani said. No structures were threatened and there were no evacuations.

The Rincon Valley and Bennett Valley fire protection districts also responded to the fire.