Evacuations carried out as crews continue to battle bushfires near Lawrence Livermore laboratory – NBC Bay Area

Lina PortmanJune 2, 2024

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A neighborhood south of Tracy was ordered to evacuate after a wind-driven wildfire burned more than 10,000 acres and closed part of Interstate Highway 580 Saturday. The fire was 13% contained as of Saturday evening, firefighters said.

Residents east of Interstate 580, between Corral Hollow Road and South Tracy Boulevard, were asked to leave and those south of Tracy Boulevard should be prepared to leave, the county's office of emergency services said of San Joaquin in social media posts around 7 p.m.

The Coral Fire that started east of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site 300 closed Interstate 580 from Corral Hollow Road to Interstate 5 in both directions, Caltrans said on social media.

Two Alameda County firefighters were taken to local hospitals for treatment of minor to moderate burns, said Cheryl Hurd, a department spokeswoman.

Winds in the hills west of Tracy were gusting between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts to 43 mph, said Dylan Flynn, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Monterey. The wind is expected to remain high until after midnight, he said.

The fire, first reported at 2:39 p.m., covered about 30 acres at 4:45 p.m. It grew to 4,920 acres, with 10% contained, around 7:35 p.m., Cal Fire said on its website.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, Hurd said.

Site 300, located 15 miles east of the main Lawrence Livermore site, houses facilities to support the development of explosive materials as well as hydrodynamic testing and diagnostics, according to the laboratory's website.