Small brush fire smolders overnight in Paso Robles riverbed

PASO ROBLES, Calif. - A small brush fire smoldered overnight after breaking out in the Paso Robles riverbed late Friday.

The first calls came into Paso Robles Fire around 11:36 p.m.

Crews located the brush fire burning in the Salinas Riverbed on the south end of town about half a mile south of Niblick Road.

Firefighters worked into the night to knock down the fire. They said the fire did not have high chances of spreading due to fuel reduction processes in the area, however, the dense brush did pose a challenge to firefighters.

Firefighters said they had to wait for the shift change in the early morning and got one of the city's water tenders to help with mop-up.

Because of this, the burn continued smoldering into Saturday morning.

Smoke will be visible from Highway 101 in South Paso Robles throughout the morning as Paso fire works to fully extinguish a small vegetation fire @CALFIRE_SLO @PRCity pic.twitter.com/XzSAjFqnjo

— Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services (@PasoRoblesES) October 16, 2021

Drivers on Highway 101 called the fire in again in the morning after seeing smoke, however, crews were still at the scene finishing off the job.

In total, the fire burned about a third of an acre of brush.

Investigations revealed people started the fire by accident.

No further information was available.