Vegetation fire in Pittsburg burns 122 acres, forces evacuations

PITTSBURG — A vegetation fireplace that pressured evacuations early Friday burned greater than 100 acres, however residents’ efforts to keep up defensible area round their houses helped hold the constructions secure, fireplace officers mentioned.

Not a single home burned within the 122-acre blaze that started rolling by means of hills close to Jacqueline and Daffodil drives and Serrano Method about 2 a.m., Battalion Chief Rob Lutzow of the Contra Costa Hearth Safety District mentioned. About 100 homes have been threatened, “a few of them large time,” he mentioned.

Crews had the fireplace totally contained by 7:30 a.m. They have been anticipated to stay on the scene effectively into the afternoon to verify it didn’t begin once more.

No one was injured.

The blaze initially was estimated by officers to be 200 acres earlier than its measurement was revised downward. It pressured roughly 500 homes to be evacuated, ConFire spokesman Steve Hill mentioned.

A newly used evacuation system by Contra Costa County despatched out evacuation messages to residents indicating the areas that have been within the evacuation zone. Evacuations have been ordered for the world north of Jacqueline Drive, South of West Leland Highway, east of Bailey Highway and west of San Remo Method. Folks have been instructed to depart and go south of Safeway off Bailey Highway.

Authorities lifted the order about 6:05 a.m.

Officers mentioned the clearing of weeds and different dry vegetation by close by owners allowed crews the time they wanted to get firefighters in entrance of the homes and comprise the blaze’s ahead progress.

“There was a whole lot of defensible area,” Lutzow mentioned. “That was large, as a result of with out it, not less than among the houses would’ve (burned).”

Cal Hearth crews additionally fought the blaze, whereas Pittsburg police and Contra Costa Sheriff’s Workplace deputies helped to evacuate residents.

The vegetation fireplace was the largest of many who have burned in Pittsburg and elsewhere in central Contra Costa County over the previous month. Fires have sparked lately close to Freeway 4 in Bay Level, off Golf Membership Highway in Pittsburg, and alongside Willow Cross Highway in Harmony.

“We’ve been very busy already this hearth season,” Lutzow mentioned. “We’ve had a number of massive responses for vegetation fires lately.”

Investigators have been on the scene and searching into studies by native residents that fireworks have been going off within the space shortly earlier than the blaze, Lutzow mentioned. Different residents reported listening to what seemed like electrical tools sparking.

“We take studies from people who find themselves telling us what they heard, what they noticed,” Lutzow mentioned. “And our investigators look into it and see if they will pinpoint the place it began and possibly discover one thing that began it.”