Wildfire burns more than 20 square miles near Tracy, California | News

June 2 update:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California firefighters are expected to gain ground Sunday following a wind-driven wildfire that has ravaged thousands of acres 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of San Francisco, torched a home and forced residents to flee the area near central California. town of Tracy.

The fire broke out Saturday afternoon in the grassy hills managed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of the nation's key centers for nuclear weapons science and technology. The cause was under investigation.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the research center was not immediately threatened by the fire, nicknamed the Corral Fire, which devoured some 52 square kilometers on Sunday afternoon. noon and was 30% contained.

Thousands of people in the region, including parts of the town of Tracy with a population of 100,000, were ordered to evacuation centers.

CalFire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira said Sunday afternoon that the fire “burned every house” in the area and destroyed one home. With calmer winds and milder weather on Sunday, Silveira said he did not expect the fire to spread.

Two firefighters suffered minor to moderate burns Saturday and are expected to make a full recovery, Silveira said.

The wildfire posed no threat to laboratory facilities or operations and had moved away from the site, Lawrence Livermore spokesman Paul Rhien said in a statement to The Associated Press early Sunday.

“As a precaution, we activated our emergency operations center to monitor the situation throughout the weekend,” Rhien said.

Photos showed a wall of flames moving over the parched landscape as black smoke rose into the sky.

The wildfire also forced the closure of two major highways, including a highway that connects the San Francisco Bay area to San Joaquin County in central California, but they had reopened by Sunday afternoon.

The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services has issued an evacuation order for areas west of the California Aqueduct, south of Corral Hollow Creek, west of Alameda County and south of Stanislaus County. A temporary evacuation point has been established at the Larch Clover Community Center in Tracy. The order was still in effect as of early Sunday afternoon.

Sunday's high temperature in Tracy is expected to reach 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius), with no rain expected, but warmer conditions are ahead.

The National Weather Service said “dangerously hot conditions” with highs of 103 F to 108 F (39.4 C to 42.2 C) were expected later in the week for the San Joaquin Valley, an area which includes Tracy. Wind gusts of up to 45 mph hit the area Saturday evening, according to meteorologist Idamis Shoemaker of the Sacramento Weather Service.

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Original article, June 1:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California firefighters, aided by aircraft, battled a wind-driven wildfire Saturday in an area straddling the San Francisco Bay Area and central California, they said. authorities.

Gusty winds fueled the Corral Fire near the town of Tracy, 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of San Francisco, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the town of Livermore, according to the California Department of Forestry and Conservation. fire protection, or Cal Feu.

The fire grew to 18 square kilometers within hours, sending dark plumes of smoke high into the sky. It was 40% contained, Cal Fire said.

Interstate 580, which connects the San Francisco Bay Area to San Joaquin County in central California, was closed in both directions, from Corral Hollow Road to Interstate 5, due to poor visibility due to smoke, the California Department of Transportation said in a statement.

The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services issued an evacuation order, locating the wildfire to an area east of Interstate 580. Residents between Corral Hollow Road and Tracy Boulevard were issued ordered to leave their homes, while residents south of Tracy Boulevard were asked to prepare for evacuation.

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