Cal Fire gains upper hand in fast-moving brush fire

Aided by air tankers, Cal Fire ground crews Sunday evening slowed a once fast-moving wildfire that had consumed 150 acres in 3½ hours near Highway 101 in Gilroy.

What was dubbed the Castro Fire was reported at 4 p.m. south of Gavilan College near Castro Valley Road. Fed by dry oak woodlands and moderate winds, the blaze burned 50 acres by 5:20 p.m., then tripled in size in less than an hour and a half. As of 6:40 p.m., it was threatening just one structure.

“We are making efforts to reduce the risk to that structure,” Cal Fire Communicators Operator Chris Simberlund said. The fire ran up a ridge and then down the other side. But a stroke of luck that enabled an air attack helped turn the tide. Cal Fire had deployed more than 100 firefighters, from its Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey county divisions; the Gilroy Fire Department and the South Santa Clara County Fire District, said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Martin. The state firefighting agency also sent two helicopters plus air tankers during daylight hours.

“We’re fortunate there was that amount,” given the demand from other fires raging in the state, Martin said. “We must have hit a lull and were able to get six air tankers.”

As of about 7:15 p.m., he said, “We probably have the majority of forward progress stopped.” Cal Fire set up a staging area near Castro Valley Road and Santa Teresa Boulevard. As of early evening, the only road closure was the end of Castro Valley Road, Simberlund said. No one, at that point, had been evacuated.