Monday, September 09, 2013

Mt. Diablo Wildfire

Wildfire Is North of the Massive Stanislaus/Yosemite Wildfire

A wildfire burning in the rugged terrain of Mt. Diablo State Park grew to 1,500 acres overnight.  Fire officials said they have requested 15 Calfire strike teams about 100 firefighters from the state to battle the fire.

The Mt. Diabloe wildfire broke out Sunday afternoon amid near triple-digit temperatures and extremely low humidity.  About 100 homes in Clayton, a town of about 11,000 people alongside the park, have been ordered evacuated.  An evacuation center was established at Clayton Community Library.

About 250 firefighters from several surrounding agencies were struggling with tough, steep terrain. With help from four planes and three helicopters, they had the blaze 10 percent contained by night fall Sunday.  Two air tankers and two helicopters were set to join the battle early Monday morning.

The smoke from the blaze could be seen as far away as San Francisco.

As of Sunday, the fire had spread to 170 acres and crews had succeeded in containing 10 percent of it. A Contra Costa County Fire official reported that the blaze had grown to around 350 acres, but Cal Fire reported the size at only 300 acres.

Automated calls told residents living on for Oak Hill Lane n at Curry Canyon Road and Curry Point in Clayton to evacuate their homes immediately and head to Diablo View Middle School. People with horses and other livestock were directed to go to the Contra Costa Fairground in Antioch. (KTVU, 9/9/2013, Photo: Brent Burzycki/KTVU.com)

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