Crews battle 2 San Jose fires in hot, windy conditions

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Firefighters in San Jose were busy battling two fires Saturday in hot and windy conditions. They hope things slow down this holiday weekend.

It took a lot to put out this fire on north Seventh Street. The thick black smoke could be seen for miles. On the ground, it was worse.

Chris Raquedan was one of two people inside one of the buildings when the fire started.

"I've never been to a fire like this before," he said. "It was huge. It was everywhere. There was black smoke, you couldn't even see behind there. It was terrible."

Two buildings went up in flames. They were used for storing old cars, parts, and tools.

The fire started in a far corner and then rushed down a building. At the same time, a witness said he saw someone looking suspicious, running down the train tracks that way. Investigators say they still haven't decided what the cause is.

But that doesn't matter to Quang Nguyen, the business owner.

"My body okay, my dog okay, I'm happy," he said.

Unfortunately, he also didn't have insurance. But just as firefighters got control of one fire, another broke out a few miles away in Kelley Park off Senter Road. The grass fire burned half an acre.

It was a tough fight, and now San Jose firefighters will be watched closely to make sure exhaustion doesn't set in.

"Anytime you get higher heat it starts causing problems there, and when they start getting multiple fires back to back that takes its toll to," SJFD said Captain Rob Brown. "So those are all things we're concerned about going into a weekend that looks like it's going to be relatively warm."

Fire crews are also worried about windy conditions.

They don't expect to get a break for another two months. That's when fire season officially ends.