Firefighters were able to put down a pre-dawn grass fire in the Fremont foothills early Monday morning.
The first report of the fire came in at 4:30 a.m. from a hiker who saw smoke and flames coming from the Mission Peak Preserve, which is right next to a residential neighborhood.
"We sent a wildland response from Fremont and a simultaneous response from CAL FIRE was dispatched," said Fremont Fire Battalion Chief Gary Ashley.
He said the fire could have become much more serious if it had come later in the season.
"Had it been a hotter or windier day the fire had the potential to go to 10 acres, given the terrain and the steepness. So we are fortunate that it came in at the time it did," said Ashley.
Crews were instead able to surround the fire and stop it at just two acres.
The fire is being considered suspicious because those cool weather conditions likely would not have sparked a fire on its own, and because of the location of the fire.
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