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Three California kids had the hot idea of playing with fire in their backyard Wednesday, authorities said, sparking an inferno that destroyed a house, vehicles and a storage yard before firefighters got it under control.
Flames spread quickly under whipping winds across dry grass, coming within a few feet of neighboring homes as clouds of dark smoke willowed up the horizon, images of the incident show.
A spokesperson for the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said the kids’ fire "got out of hand" under dry, windy conditions and engulfed the house on Arthur Road in Martinez. Weather conditions showed winds of up to 20 mph at the time.
(Con Fire PIO)
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Aerial cameras captured images of the flames and smoke billowing up, and explosions could be heard as firefighters raced to contain the blaze.
Some of the blasts had to do with the heat amassing under overhead power lines, Contra Costa County Fire Battalion Chief Vito Impastato told the San Francisco-based KPIX.
"At one point it just conducted the energy there and that is where your explosion came from," he told the station. "As soon as that happened, it de-energized lines."
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At least a dozen vehicles were destroyed along with other equipment in the storage yard, and flames crept within a few feet of other nearby homes, authorities said.
Images of the aftermath showed the house's charred remains blackened and flat, with power towers looming in the background.
The children were released to their parents’ custody, according to authorities.
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