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Nipomo brush fires cause determined to be pieces of a catalytic converter

NIPOMO, Calif. - Fire investigators determined small broken pieces of a catalytic converter, a car part that controls emissions, to be the cause of Friday's spot fires along Highway 101 in Nipomo.

This is the third fire caused by a catalytic converter along the Central Coast in recent weeks.

Small pieces of hot metal were found at the scene of the fire, according to CAL FIRE SLO.

“The catalytic converter is literally falling apart and those pieces of it are hitting that grass and that vegetation that's dead, that duff layer. And it's igniting because it's extremely hot," said Toni Davis with CAL FIRE SLO.

A normally functioning catalytic converter reaches temperatures between 1200 and 1400 degrees, according to Christopher Curzon at Tom’s Auto Service.

“A plugged up catalytic converter might be able to get as hot as 3000 degrees. And they're very close to the ground," said auto technician, Christopher Curzon.

CAL FIRE SLO advises drivers to not pull over into dry grass.

"You can hear the sound of a broken or a catalytic converter that is not working correctly. It's a rattly noise. And if you hear stuff like that, you definitely want to pull over in an area where there's no dead grass, there's no dead vegetation, find that dirt turn out or that pavement turn out," said Toni Davis.

“If you have a perfectly functioning catalytic converter and you park over some grass, it could ignite the grass without having anything wrong with the car," said Christopher Curzon.

Only one structure was damaged, according to CAL FIRE SLO.

Friday's spot fires in Nipomo burned a total of 26 acres and is 100% contained.

Article Topic Follows: San Luis Obispo County

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Evan Vega

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