Wildfire near San Francisco 50% contained after burning 14,000 acres and forcing evacuations

A wildfire in Northern California burned thousands of acres, forced evacuations and injured two firefighters over the weekend.

Flames spread through San Joaquin County on Saturday, forcing authorities to evacuate thousands of people, including parts of the town of Tracy, which has a population of 100,000. The evacuation order was then lifted Sunday evening to allow residents to return home.

The fire, dubbed the Corral Fire, closed part of Interstate Highway 580 and continued to threaten communities.

CalFire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira said Sunday afternoon that the fire “burned down to homes” in the area and destroyed one home.

As of Sunday afternoon, the fire had grown to 14,000 acres and was 30% contained, Cal Fire said in an article on 12,500 acres.

More than 400 personnel were assigned to the fire and made significant progress on Sunday. The fire was 50% contained by the evening.

“Weather conditions have become more favorable for firefighters, allowing crews to make progress in constructing and improving control lines,” Cal Fire said in a statement.

The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services asked residents east of Highway 580, between Corral Hollow Road and South Tracy Boulevard, to leave first. A temporary evacuation point was established at the Larch Clover Community Center, CBS News reported.

It is not known exactly what caused the fire.

Two Alameda County firefighters were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor to moderate burns, according to the news outlet.

The National Weather Service reported winds in the hills west of Tracy were 20 to 25 mph, with gusts to 43 mph. Winds are expected to be strong until midnight Sunday.

Cal Fire said the fire was reported at 2:39 p.m. Saturday near Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site 300 and had grown to 30 acres by 4:45 p.m. before growing to 4,920 acres.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the research center was not immediately threatened by the fire.

The federal laboratory, located about 40 miles southeast of downtown Oakland, conducts experiments on nuclear reactions, lasers, atomic structure and molecular biology.

This is the first major wildfire this year in California, marking the start of the state's wildfire season.