Evacuations lifted after more than 14,000 acres burn

Firefighters from Camp Bullion Conversation work on the Corral Fire off Corral Hollow Road in Tracy, Calif., Sunday, June 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Despite a wet winter and heavy snowpack, California's 2024 wildfire season kicked off this weekend with the state's largest fire of the year, the Corral Fire south of Tracy and East of Livermore.

The fire broke out Saturday afternoon and grew out of control through Sunday, injuring two firefighters, forcing evacuations, destroying a home and turning vast swaths of once-golden hillsides into blackened wastelands.

In 24 hours, the Corral Fire burned 14,000 acres, more than the total area burned by California's 1,253 wildfires so far this year, according to Cal Fire statistics. As of Sunday evening, the fire was 50% contained, the agency said.

“We have a very, very robust grass crop this year, and that's what led to the fire,” Cal Fire Capt. Robert Foxworthy said Sunday afternoon.

Lush grasses that thrived on winter rains are now dead or dying and drying out across the state. Areas such as the East Bay Hills are at particularly high risk when winds pick up, as happened Saturday when the fire broke out around 2:30 p.m. and winds reached 40 mph and even stronger gusts pushed it to nearly 10,000 acres within hours, Foxworthy said. .

These drying grasses can be expected to lead to “an increase in grass fires in the coming weeks,” San Jose State University professor Craig Clements, director of the Wildfire interdisciplinary research center. Temperatures are expected to rise sharply in the region from Tuesday.

The Corral Fire came just a day after Cal Fire, citing “abundant” wind-dried grasses and warming temperatures, announced Friday the suspension – starting Saturday – of residential debris burning permits in outdoors in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and West San. Joaquín and Stanislaus Counties.

Two Alameda County Fire Department firefighters were injured while battling the blaze. “They were
transported to local hospitals, where they are treated and evaluated,” the department said in a statement Sunday afternoon. A Cal Fire spokesperson said the firefighters were in stable condition and recovering.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation as of Sunday afternoon, Cal Fire said. The Alameda County Fire Department said Sunday that it conducted a prescribed burn Friday in the area of ​​the fire, but the fire was out by 3 p.m. and the department sees no connection between that operation and the Corral fire.

As of Sunday evening, only one structure had been damaged, with a home considered a total loss, Cal Fire said.

Two hundred homes in the Tracy area were under an evacuation order which was lifted at 6 p.m. Sunday, replaced with an evacuation warning. It is not clear how many residents fled. Residents of the alert zone were urged on Sunday evening to remain vigilant and prepare for a change in the situation.

Cal Fire warned California residents to remove any dead or dying vegetation within 100 feet of homes.

On Saturday, firefighters faced sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts of up to 60 mph, and “weren't even able to launch a direct attack,” said Cécile Juliette, door -Cal Fire spokesperson.

“When winds are this strong, they move a grass fire very quickly,” Juliette said. Lighter winds Sunday allowed firefighters to make significant progress, she said.

A fire of this magnitude in early June should be “an eye-opener” to the public, Juliette said. “Usually you don’t really start to ramp up and get to that size until July,” she said.

The firefighters' biggest concern was the new Tracy Hills subdivision, which has a handful of homes so far, and the area around the Tracy Golf & County Club where the home was destroyed.

The house, largely completely destroyed by the flames, was located in front of completely burned hills, between houses apparently spared by the fire. Two charred palm trees stood at the entrance to the driveway of the ruined house, which housed several burned-out cars. A melted fence bordered the property.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation as of Sunday afternoon, Cal Fire said. The Alameda County Fire Department said Sunday that it conducted a prescribed burn Friday in the area of ​​the fire, but the fire was out by 3 p.m. and the department sees no connection between that operation and the Corral fire.

South of Tracy, a Santa Cruz fire crew, supported by inmate firefighters at the state prison, had been battling the blaze since about 6 a.m. and by Sunday afternoon was spraying water on spots smoldering heat, to keep the flames away from the Tracy Hills subdivision.

“We've just been here to clean up and make sure that any potential for the fire to reignite or spread is just stopped here,” Cal Fire Capt. Skylar Merritt said.

After I-580 was closed from I-205 to I-5 overnight and most of the morning, the left lane of eastbound 580 reopened before noon, but the right lane remained closed from Corral Hollow Road to South Bird Road in San Joaquin County until Sunday afternoon. . The westbound lanes were reopened Sunday morning, Caltrans said. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, all eastbound lanes were open, Cal Fire said.

A temporary evacuation site has been established at the Larch Clover Community Center, 11157 W. Larch Road, in Tracy.