They fight wildfire in California fueled by wind east of San Francisco

California firefighters anticipated gaining ground in the fight against a wind-fueled fire that consumed hundreds of hectares about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of San Francisco, destroyed a home and forced residents to flee the area. near the city of Tracy, in the center of the state.

The fire broke out Saturday afternoon in the hills managed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of the main centers for nuclear weapons science and technology in the United States. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said the research center is not in immediate danger from flames from the Corral Fire, which had consumed about 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) by Sunday. in the afternoon and was 30% contained.

Thousands of people in the area, including parts of the city of Tracy — which has 100,000 residents — were ordered to evacuate centers. Tracy is located about 112 kilometers (70 miles) south of Sacramento, the state capital.

CalFire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira said Sunday that the fire “reached homes” in the area and destroyed a residence. Because there were more moderate winds and milder temperatures that day, Silveira said he did not anticipate the fire would get worse.

Two firefighters suffered minor to moderate burns on Saturday, and are expected to make a full recovery, Silveira said.

The fire posed no threat to any lab or operations and had moved away from the site, Lawrence Livermore spokesman Paul Rhien said in a statement to The Associated Press early Sunday.

“As a preventive measure, we have activated our emergency operations center to monitor the situation over the weekend,” Rhien said.

Photographs showed a wall of flames moving over the parched landscape as plumes of black smoke rose into the sky.

The fire also forced the closure of two major highways, including an interstate that connects the San Francisco Bay Area with San Joaquin County in central California. Both roads were already reopened by Sunday afternoon.

The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services issued an evacuation order for areas located west of the California Aqueduct, south of Corral Hollow Road, west to Alameda County and south to Stanislaus County. A temporary evacuation point was established at the Larch Clover Community Center in Tracy. The order remained in effect Sunday afternoon.

The expected high temperature for Sunday in Tracy was 29 degrees Celsius (85 Fahrenheit), and there is no forecast for rain, but warmer weather is expected later.

The National Weather Service said “dangerously warm conditions” were expected in the coming days, with high temperatures between 103 and 108 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 and 42.2 degrees Celsius) for the San Joaquin Valley, an area that includes Tracy. . Wind gusts of up to 45 mph (72 km/h) hit the region Saturday night, according to meteorologist Idamis Shoemaker.

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