SAN JOSE — “Arcing” power lines were reported in the lead-up to a three-alarm grass fire that severely damaged two homes in the East San Jose foothills Sunday afternoon and sparked wildfire fears in the wake of the North Bay inferno that has killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands.

The San Jose Fire Department and allied agencies were summoned to a pair of homes on Miguelita Road just above Mt. Hamilton Road, south of Alum Rock Park, after a 1:17 p.m. emergency call mentioned arcing power lines sparkking a vegetation fire, SJFD Capt. Brad Cloutier said.

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That report was accompanied by several separate reports of heavy smoke in the area, one of them from as far away as Reid-Hillview Airport.

When firefighters arrived — crews from San Jose, Cal Fire, and the Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department responded — the blaze was burning heavy vegetation and brush between two homes. Crews kept the fire from spreading, sparing four homes, then focused on the two homes that had caught fire. Cloutier said the homes suffered “significant damage.”

Residents of the damaged homes who were present when the fire broke out evacuated safely. The two homes have been deemed uninhabitable due to the fire damage.

Numerous animals were evacuated including about 30 caged birds from one of the homes as well as a pair of dogs.

Cloutier said fire investigators are exploring the report of arcing power lines, but it aligns with resident accounts leading up to the fire. They said they noticed that their electricity was on the fritz, with lights going on and off, and their televisions sporadically shutting down. Then they heard an explosion.

The report evokes fresh memories of the North Bay fires, where PG&E is now the subject of a state investigation determining whether poorly maintained power poles and lines failed in high winds, leading to the massive fires in Wine Country.

PG&E spokesman Jason King said utility crews were sent to the scene “to make the situation safe for first responders.” He added that 263 customers lost service in the accompanying outage, and that about 50 customers were still without power as of 5 p.m. Full service restoration was expected by 10 p.m.

“We can’t speculate on the cause of the fire at this time. We will work with the San Jose Fire Department to determine the cause,” he said. “PG&E maintains an unwavering focus on delivering safe an reliable electric and gas service to the customers and communities that we serve.”

Brett Bell, who lives on nearby Observatory Drive, said the North Bay fires were fresh on his mind when he saw the smoke and flames.

“We started packing like crazy,” Bell said. “Fire is a little bit of a sensitive subject right now.”

Cloutier echoed the sentiment.

“With everything that’s happening in the North Bay, people are hyper-vigilant about fires and so are we,” he said.

Capt. Arlen Summer, a wildland fire specialist with SJFD, said the moisture in the air was exceptionally low on Sunday, at one point registering at 6 percent. Anything less than 30 percent is conducive to fire, he said.

Shortly after the fire broke out, they were prepared for a larger event — the Berryessa Community Center offered to serve as an evacuation center if necessary.

Crews were planning to remain at the scene throughout Sunday evening to ensure there are no flare-ups from the fire, Cloutier said.

Summer said lessons are taken from previous incidents such as the Lariat Fire, which burned 101 acres in East San Jose and torched one home in September.

“You learn from all these things that are going on,” he said, “and try to preload an incident as fast as you can.”