CalFire crews mop up a smoldering fire along Interstate 580 near the Tracy Golf and Country Club in Tracy on June 2, 2024, after the Corral Fire swept through the evening before. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
Updated 5:15 p.m. Sunday.
California firefighters aided by aircraft are battling a wind-driven wildfire that continued not only burning but spreading early today in an area straddling the San Francisco Bay Area and central California, authorities said.
The Corral Fire began Saturday afternoon near the city of Tracy and east of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Dark plumes of smoke traveled high into the sky over the fire area comprised mostly of grassy hills.
Earlier today, the blaze appeared to be growing, fueled by hot and dry conditions in California. Cal Fire updated the size of the fire to 22 square miles, up from 19.5 square miles earlier this morning. The fire is now 50 percent contained. Chief Baraka Carter said two fire workers were injured.
A view of Interstate 580 from South Bird Road in Tracy on June 2, 2024, after the Corral Fire swept through the area. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
The westbound side of Interstate 580 was back open at 11:00 a.m. while Caltrans said eastbound I-580 remained closed. Caltrans said Highway 132 has also reopened.
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Cal Fire announced on X, known formerly as Twitter, that as of 6:00 p.m., evacuation orders for the Corral Fire would be downgraded to evacuation warnings. Road closures for nonresidents would continue on South Corral Hollow Road and Chrisman Road south of I-580. Cal Fire advised residents to remain vigilant and be prepared for potential changes.
The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services had previously issued an evacuation order for areas west of the California Aqueduct, south of Corral Hollow Creek, west to Alameda County and south to Stanislaus County. A temporary evacuation point was established at Larch Clover Community Center in Tracy. Caitlin Cortez evacuated from her home last night in Tracy after neighboring houses caught fire.
“My husband came home and basically told me ‘you got five minutes to pack what you need and get the kids and dog and get out,'” she said. “Trees were bursting up in flames and a propane tank blew up last night out there. It was pretty dicey all night.”
Travis Curtiss and his wife Megan wait at a 76 gas station on Chrisman Road south of Tracy on June 2, 2024, for officials to allow them to see what is left of Curtiss’ parents’ home after the Corral Fire swept through the evening before. Christie and Stevan Curtiss, the parents of Travis Curtiss, evacuated their home to a local hotel on the evening of June 1 as they saw a barn at the back of the property on fire. Their home was the only house in the area to burn. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
UC San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia safety program released time-lapse video footage of the start of the Corral Fire, monitoring how it spread and raged throughout the night.
“Winds have died down significantly, the temperatures have dropped and our relative humidities have gone way up, which gives us the upper hand,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira. “We have that opportunity to really go, on an offensive attack on this fire, putting good control lines right on the fire’s edge, and stopping the growth from here on out.”
Fire damage on Bernard Road near the Tracy Golf and Country Club in Tracy on June 2, 2024, after the Corral Fire swept through the evening before. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
Silveira said high winds yesterday made it very difficult to put down lines around the perimeter of the fire, but weather conditions today “are definitely in our favor.”
The National Weather Service said “dangerously hot conditions” with highs of 103 to 108 were expected later in the week for San Joaquin Valley, an area that encompasses the city of Tracy. Wind gusts of up to 45 mph lashed the region Saturday night, according to meteorologist Idamis Shoemaker of the NWS Sacramento.
Charred fields next to houses on Vernalis Road near the Tracy Golf and Country Club in Tracy on June 2, 2024, after the Corral Fire swept through the evening before. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
The wildfire was near the Lawrence Livermore laboratory’s Site 300 southwest of Tracy, Cal Fire said in a social media post late Saturday.
Lawrence Livermore is a research and development institution primarily focusing on the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. Site 300, 15 miles east of the laboratory’s main installation, supports “development of explosive materials as well as hydrodynamic testing and diagnostics,” according to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory website.
Fire crews work on a property on Vernalis Road near the Tracy Golf and Country Club in Tracy on June 2, 2024, after the Corral Fire swept through the evening before. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
The wildfire presented no threats to any laboratory facilities or operations and the fire had moved away from the site, Lawrence Livermore spokesperson Paul Rhien said in a statement to The Associated Press early Sunday.
“We have been working in close partnership with Cal Fire, Alameda County Fire Dept, and other emergency services partners throughout the evening,” Rhien said. “As a precaution, we have activated our emergency operations center to monitor the situation through the weekend.”
The Associated Press and KQED’s Katherine Monahan, Sara Hossaini, and Beth LaBerge contributed reporting to this story.
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