Advertisement 170+ acres charred by fire within hours near Cal Expo More than 130 firefighters responded to grass fire along American River Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Firefighters contained a 176-acre grass fire Thursday evening that ignited south of Cal Expo along the American River Parkway in Sacramento.The blaze broke out sometime before 1:15 p.m. near mile marker 5, near Business Interstate 80. The fire was contained by 5:50 p.m.At one point, flames jumped a road and burned toward Cal Expo, with flames reaching upwards of 50 feet tall."The fire did jump one of the fire lines," Sacramento firefighter Chris Harvey said. "We had down here in the field and got into some of this taller brush and taller trees."LiveCopter 3 spotted sparks coming from transformers and power lines in the area where the blaze was burning."Some of the pops you’re hearing is because the fire gets under the power lines. We’re having some of the transformers or the lines that are arching," Harvey said. "Occasionally, in a fire like this, we may get a propane tank that may be in a camp as well."About 1,000 people at Cal Expo were evacuated. There were two major events going on when the fire sparked: a rental housing association meeting and an RV show."We also have a couple of events going on the property, as well," Cal Expo Media Director Sabrina Rodriguez said. "Just for safety -- because there were quite a few people here -- to get them out sooner rather than later."The horse race track at Cal Expo remained open, and races continued as scheduled Thursday evening. Cal Expo's RV park also stayed open.The blaze moved to the northeast, away from Business 80. The eastward spread of fire was stopped at Ethan Boulevard, fire officials said.Some spot fires popped up along the Cal Expo side of the levee, but a couple of people with fire extinguishers were ready to catch anything that sparks fall onto, KCRA's Kevin Oliver reported.The monorail trains, which are housed near Bonney Field where the fire is burning, were moved out of that area as a precaution.Two PG&E power lines and a PG&E substation were affected by the blaze, but power was quickly restored, PG&E officials said.The area has a history of fires over the past several years, including a major fire that threatened Cal Expo on Fourth of July 2014. Just three months ago, a 45-acre grass fire was sparked on June 20, thanks to some gusty winds and dense, dry brush.The June grass fire created a huge burn scar. When Thursday's fire met with the burn scar, it acted as a natural fire break.A portion of the American River Parkway Trail was closed until Friday morning to ensure there were no flare-ups and that the area was safe.More than 130 firefighters from four different agencies battled the blaze.A Sacramento firefighter suffered smoke inhalation and was released later Thursday night. The Sacramento Fire Department said he is doing well.It's unclear how the fire started, but officials said it started near a previous homeless camp.