Flaming hawk with snake in its talons sparks $10k brush fire

Thursday, June 11, 2015, 4:50 AM - In a scene beyond the imagination of any nature documentary, a hawk carrying a snake in its talons struck power lines north of San Diego Tuesday, sparking a hillside fire.

Despite the flames burning near several local businesses, the incident resulted in $10,000 damage but required no evacuations as officers were quick to call in San Diego Fire-Rescue crews who contained the fire within an hour. Up to 80 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the fire, including a helicopter used to drop water on it.

Fire officials confirmed the cause of the blaze after locating the dead bird and snake in the aftermath.

"A hawk that hit the high voltage power line, caught fire, and fell to the ground," SD Fire-Rescue spokesperson Lee Swanson said in a written release.

Sources: NBC San Diego

Editor's note: The hawk depicted in the small image on the web site is not associated with this story, but rather submitted to our photo gallery.