Solano County grass fire scorches 4,500 acres; smoke covers Bay Area
A fast-moving fire burning Sunday in southern Solano County had raged to 4,000 acres, with heavy smoke from the blaze blowing throughout the Bay Area, before firefighters received a much-needed change in the weather conditions.
Firefighters from several jurisdictions — aircraft from Cal Fire, plus crews from Suisun City, Montezuma, Benicia, American Canyon, Vallejo and Travis Air Force Base — fought the blaze all day, and by nightfall had good news to report: 70 percent containment.
“The sun went down. The wind stopped blowing. And the head of the fire burned into the Suisun Marsh,” Dennis Rein of the Suisun Fire Protection District told the Bay Area News Group.
It was a strong turnaround from the afternoon, when high winds hampered efforts to gain the upper hand.
The fire had started south of Travis Air Force Base near Branscombe Road just before 11 a.m., and was driven south by high winds, Don Ryan of the Solano County Office of Emergency Services said Sunday evening in a video update posted to Facebook. The fire jumped Highway 12, and burned south through the Potrero Hills area and then headed toward the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area, near the southern edge of the county.
“We’ve had a few structure losses, as well as a few vehicles that have been burned,” Ryan reported.
No evacuations were ordered, though authorities late Sunday night were still asking people to stay away from the area where the fire is burning to allow crews to access the area more easily.
A portion of Highway 12 near Walters Road was closed in both directions earlier Sunday when the flames were nearby, but reopened just before 1 p.m.
Throughout the day, smoke was reported drifting throughout Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties as a result of the blaze, and some dark ash was spotted in Walnut Creek and Concord. In southern Contra Costa, the smoke prompted San Ramon Little League officials to cancel Sunday games.
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District sent a tweet to concerned members of the public explaining that the heavy smoke was due to the four-alarm fire in Solano County and urging residents not to call 911 for that.
For the whole region, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory that will be in effect through Monday. Residents are urged to stay indoors if affected by the smoke.
It was the second of two fires to break out Sunday in the Vacaville-Suisun region. Earlier in the day, a portion of Highway 505 was shut down after a brush fire broke out along the route, according to the California Highway Patrol.
That fire, near Vaca Valley Parkway, closed down connecting ramps to Interstate 80 for about an hour before they were reopened, Bay City News Service reported.
Parts of the Bay Area remained under a red flag warning from the National Weather Service through 9 a.m. Monday. High winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour, and gusts that could reach 55 miles per hour, along with low humidity and warm daytime temperatures were creating the potential for critical fire weather conditions in the region.