California squirrel short circuit starts fire
An unlucky squirrel shorted out a high-voltage power line Monday morning near North Market Street in Redding and sparked a small brush fire after it fell into dry vegetation.
Fanned by winds, the 8:50 a.m. fire along North Market Street north of Benton Drive spread up a steep hill, a spokesman for the Redding Fire Department said.
It quickly grew from the base of a power pole to about 1 acre, said Battalion Chief Gerry Gray.
