Cussed Peat Fireplace In Largely Inaccessible Areas of Bay Level and Pittsburg Producing Important Smoke; Fireplace Contained, No Menace to Buildings

CONCORD, CALIF. – Contra Costa County Fireplace Safety District (Con Fireplace) at present introduced particulars concerning a peat hearth that has been burning since Could 28 within the waterfront areas of Bay Level and Pittsburg.

• The unique hearth started the early afternoon of Could 28 in a homeless encampment close to Suisun and Solano Avenues in Bay Level that burned to roughly 200 acres. The homeless encampment was utterly consumed by the fireplace. No accidents have been reported
• The Could 28 hearth occurred in a largely inaccessible space with no constructions or inhabitants and created a lingering and cussed hearth that has burned within the marsh since that date. The fireplace burned into giant quantities of peat within the space all through the following six weeks, consuming further vegetation and intermittently producing noticeable smoke, relying on climate circumstances, however nonetheless threatening no constructions or lives
• On Saturday, July 9, pushed by wind, the peat hearth flared up extending into adjoining grassy areas of Pittsburg, threatening overhead high-voltage PG&E transmission traces and close by decommissioned industrial websites.
• Regardless of excessive winds on the scene, an amazing response from Con Fireplace, aided by Cal Fireplace, resulted within the hearth being contained earlier than it might prolong into neighboring houses.
• Con Fireplace requested mutual support from Cal Fireplace for water-dropping helicopters. As a result of risk to PG&E infrastructure, this request was granted
• Earlier than it was contained, the fireplace consumed an extra 74 acres, bringing the whole space consumed by the fires to roughly 500 acres. As of July 11, the Marsh Fireplace is contained and continues to smolder in inaccessible areas of the Bay Level and Pittsburg waterfront
• Peat fires are notoriously cussed, will be nearly unimaginable to extinguish, and are sometimes left, for lack of options, to burn themselves out.
• Immediately, the remaining peat hearth is producing vital smoke however presenting little hearth hazard to the encircling space. It’s NOT threatening constructions; no evacuations are anticipated, in consequence. The Fireplace has consumed many of the gas adjoining to the neighborhood, growing the margin of security that will in any other case current a fireplace danger
• The property proprietor has been cooperative, hiring contractors to mow and disk a whole lot of acres to get rid of hazardous fuels
• PG&E additionally offered assets to assist the operation within the type of infrastructure safety groups and a big water-dropping helicopter
• We share resident issues concerning the smoke and are aggressively pursuing further treatments for the state of affairs with metropolis and county officers, different jurisdictions, the property proprietor, and a number of regulatory businesses, in an try to mitigate the state of affairs as quickly as attainable
• Con Fireplace continues to watch the fireplace scene and is ready to right away handle any flare ups that will happen.
• Now we have coordinated with Contra Costa Well being Providers to watch air high quality within the hearth space and, in consequence, CCHS issued a well being advisory late on July 11.
• For data on defending your self and your loved ones from smoke, please go to cchealth.org/wildfire-smoke/

About Contra Costa County Fireplace Safety District (Con Fireplace) – With annexation of the previous East Contra Costa Fireplace Safety District (ECCFPD) in July, 2022, Con Fireplace now offers hearth and emergency medical providers to greater than 750,000 residents in 22 cities and unincorporated areas throughout our expanded 553 square-mile jurisdiction. Annexation resulted in absorption of the assets and folks of the previous ECCFPD, including 294 sq. miles of service space. The District now contains 30 hearth stations and almost 500 staff. By means of our distinctive ambulance Alliance, the District delivers EMS and ambulance transport providers to a lot of Contra Costa County. In 2021, the District responded to some 83,000 incidents of all kinds, together with almost 43,000 hearth and EMS emergencies, and dispatched 100,000 ambulances, conducting greater than 75,000 ambulance transports. Con Fireplace stays devoted to preserving life, property, and the atmosphere.