Brush Fire At Interstate 680, Highway 4 Junction In Pacheco Contained
PACHECO (CBS SF) -- Firefighters needed two hours to contain a two-alarm grass fire near the junction of state Highway 4 and Interstate Highway 680 in Pacheco that spread to a storage rental facility and damaged about 30 units, a spokesman said.
The fires started at approximately 2:45 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said the brush fire was one of two fires at the 680/4 cloverleaf junction. One of the fires spread to the Pacheco Mini Storage facility on the 5100 block of Pacheco Ave. in Pacheco.
Con fire is on scene of a second alarm grass fire at the intersection of highway 4 and interstate 680. Please avoid area surface streets to allow emergency vehicles access. #pachecoic
— Con Fire PIO (@ContraCostaFire) July 16, 2019
The fire was halted at 4:43 p.m., said Steve Hill of the Contra Costa Fire Protection District, who added that crews will be doing mop-up and looking for hot spots that could rekindle well into the night.
An estimated 20 storage units had burned by 3:45 p.m., Hill said.
Multiple storage units are now involved in the grassfire in the Southeast corner of Hwy 4 & I680. Both routes are open but Hwy 4 ramp to S 680 is closed. Please avoid surface streets in area. #pachecoic pic.twitter.com/u7yxU2ztQ9
— Con Fire PIO (@ContraCostaFire) July 16, 2019
Many of the 470 storage units have vehicles, he said.
Hill said that 90 percent of the recent fires of this type "are started by human activity," particularly along a highway where a tossed cigarette or vehicle malfunction can quickly spark dry vegetation.
"These are very high fire danger times and it's going to be worse between now and October," he said. "We need people to be responsible."
No injuries have been reported.