San Jose firefighters Saturday afternoon found themselves battling two grass fires simultaneously.

Fires struck a hillside beside Highway 87 in southern San Jose and a landfill on city of San Jose-owned property in Milpitas about 45 minutes apart. San Jose firefighters fought both wind-driven fires but received assistance from Milpitas firefighters in battling the blaze in that city.

The two fires "taxed our resources," said San Jose fire Capt. Reggie Williams.

The larger of the two fires occurred at Canoas Garden Avenue and Sands Drive, near Church on the Hill, on the west side of Highway 87. That fire was called in at about 1:25 p.m., and firefighters were on the scene about 10 minutes later.

Some 54 firefighters from 13 companies battled the two-alarm blaze for about two hours before containing it, Williams said. The fire scorched eight to nine acres of land, and at one point threatened houses in the area. But none ended up being damaged, and no one was injured, he said.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation, but firefighters didn't suspect arson.

San Jose firefighters were alerted to the second grass fire, at Dixon Landing Road and Interstate 880, at about 2:10 p.m. The first units on the scene were from the Milpitas Fire Department. It took firefighters from both cities about two hours to contain the fire.

Williams said he didn't know how many firefighters were involved in battling the blaze, but

said it was a one-alarm fire.

After getting the fire under control, firefighters set up a watch to make sure the fire didn't restart. Underneath the grass that caught fire were pieces of bark, and firefighters were worried that the bark could rekindle the blaze, Williams said. He said the fire department expected to have firefighters on the scene all night with water trucks and bulldozers to prevent that from happening.

No one was injured in the second fire, and although some heavy equipment on the scene was threatened, no property was damaged. Firefighters were investigating the cause.

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