Pair of grass fires lead to evacuation orders
Officials issue decree after blazes were reported in Emerald Hills area
REDWOOD CITY >> A pair of fires that broke out Tuesday afternoon in grassy areas west of Redwood City prompted evacuation orders for affected neighborhoods, authorities said.
The first fire was reported at 2:22 p.m. at Edgewood Road and Crestview Drive on the northeastern perimeter of the Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve, according to the San Mateo County Office of Public Safety.
The seven-alarm Edgewood Fire covered 20 acres and was 20% contained as of 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, according to Cal Fire.
“The smoke has greatly diminished, but there's still some hot spots,” Cal Fire spokesperson Cecile Juliette said Wednesday. “That's what they're going to focus on today — to get rid of the hot spots and strengthen the control lines.”
A total of four firefighters suffered minor injuries, according to Cal Fire Deputy Chief Jonathan Cox. All four people had been treated and released as of Wednesday morning.
The Edgewood Fire sparked in “steep and thick vegetation” and ran up the ravine towards homes in Emerald Hills, coming as close as a few hundred feet, officials said. It also threatened the PG&E substation at Canada Road and resulted in heavy smoke over Highway 280.
A second fire was reported minutes after the Edgewood Fire, about 1 mile south on Colton Court, which is also near the park's perimeter.
The Colton Fire quickly reached two alarms but was contained as of Tuesday evening, Cox said. The blaze covered “several acres,” he added.
The fires prompted mandatory evacuation orders for Edgewood Park, Handley Rock Park, Emerald Hills and the town of
Woodside east of Cañada Road to Emerald Hills.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., the evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings.
An evacuation center was established at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center at 1455 Madison Ave. in Redwood City.
Residents were told to bring large animals to parking lot No. 6 at Cañada College.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co, meanwhile, was working to restore power to about 8,900 customers, according to utility spokesperson Karly Hernandez. The outage was reported around the same time the fires ignited and affected portions of Stanford University and the College of San Mateo. Face-to-face classes at the latter institution were canceled for the day.
As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, about 1,165 customers still didn't have power because PG&E doesn't have access in certain locations to make repairs to electric equipment damaged by the fire.
“We are actively looking to connect impacted customers to other sections of our electric system and will begin repairs as soon as the area is made safe and access is granted,” said PG&E spokesperson Mayra Tostado.
The blazes broke out as the region saw high temperatures approaching 100 degrees.
“We are battling some hot temperatures right now,” Cox said. “Luckily, we don't have wind that is really challenging us, but we do anticipate this heat to hold through the night, which will require us to stay out here until we do get some containment.”
The cause of the Colton and Edgewood fires was under investigation. Residents reported hearing explosions before the fire sparked. The wind didn't play a role in the spread of the Edgewood fire, but high temperatures and low fuel moistures did contribute to the spread.