Homeless debris catches fire, slows Highway 101 traffic

San Jose firefighters put out a fire Saturday afternoon at the City of San Jose Mabury Road corporation yard, after traffic on nearby U.S. Highway 101 was affected by the smoke, fire officials said.

The fire involved a pile of debris collected from homeless encampments in San Jose, said Capt. Brad Cloutier of the San Jose Fire Department. It was reported at 5:20 p.m., Cloutier said, and was controlled about 45 minutes later.

Traffic on Highway 101, about a block away and a mile east of the San Jose airport, was hampered for at least an hour.

Cloutier said:

“The thick smoke was blowing across the (freeway) lanes at ground level, and there were traffic delays.”

No one was injured, and fire crews will be on the scene well into Saturday night tending to potential hot spots, Cloutier said.