ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) — A wildfire south of Pleasanton in Alameda County triggered evacuation orders on Tuesday afternoon, according to CAL FIRE.
The fire, dubbed the “Little Fire,” started sometime before 3 p.m. in the area of Little Valley Road and Hubbard Lane south of Pleasanton and had burned 1,007 acres and is 10% contained as of 10 p.m.
CAL FIRE says one firefighter is injured. They did not release any information on their condition.
Crews from the Alameda County Fire Department and Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department also responded.
The evacuations were impacting the Ruby Hill neighborhood as well as neighborhoods along Vineyard Avenue.
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An evacuation center has opened at the Pleasanton Senior Center, 5353 Sunol Boulevard, where city staff will be available to assist those affected by the fire.
In an interview with ABC7 Eyewitness News, CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Raul Medina said the main objective while there’s still daylight is to slow down the fire by utilizing the aircraft to accomplish that.
You can follow those aircrafts and see the fire’s perimeter in the map below.
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Medina says the biggest challenges crews are facing right now are limited access to the head of the fire and wind.
There are currently three air tankers and three helicopters as well as dozers and hand crews working the fire.
Residents evacuate as “Little Fire” burns in Alameda County
What started out as a normal day soon turned into a terrifying afternoon for Pleasanton resident Sue Fox.
“I saw the smoke coming down the hill. Quite a lot of billows of smoke coming toward our street and our house,” said Fox.
Fox, along with dozens of others who live in the area, were evacuated Tuesday after the so-called Little Fire exploded in size.
“I’m not really nervous. I’m a little anxious,” said David Underwood.
Many residents ended up at the Pleasanton Senior Center – which is being used as an evacuation meeting point.
That includes Julie Deane, who says she sprang into action after getting a phone alert.
Deane tells ABC7 she immediately got a few belongings and put herself, her 84-year-old mom and another elderly neighbor into her car.
“I get scared later. I panic later. I get everything taken care of that I need to do no matter what it is, and then I look back at it and go ohhh wow,” she said.
Outside the center, Pleasanton’s mayor said it was important for him to be there providing support for his community.
“This is not something residents go through very often. It’s not something they’re very aware of. So given my personal home is right outside of that red evacuation zone, I can relate to what a lot of these residents are feeling,” said Mayor Jack Balch.
CAL FIRE is expected to be battling this fire throughout the night.
So while many residents would like to go home, in the mean time, they’re happy to have a place to stay.
“We’ll do whatever it takes to make sure we’re safe,” said Fox.
‘The whole hillside was on fire’: Witnesses describe fire
CAL FIRE took the fire fight to the air in Alameda County as hundreds of acres burned.
“The whole hillside was on fire and smoking like mad,” said Justin Mclean who lives nearby.
In total, three helicopters dropped water on the flames and five airtankers worked together to drop fire retardant, according to CAL FIRE.
Dozers were busy at work along steep ridges along with fire crews hiking that terrain as well. In fact CalFire tells us one firefighter was injured.
“Unfortunately we did have a CAL FIRE engine rollover, one firefighter injury, was transported to a local hospital and is in good spirits,” said Marcus Hernandez of CalFire.
Through the day all eyes were on the smoke in the air and the flames below.
“But every once in a while it would hit a tree and you would see the flames shoot and spiral up what must have been 20 to 30 feet tall in some spots,” said Mclean.
It’s unclear what started the fire, but witnesses say construction was going on here on Little Valley Road, an area that investigators were focused on.
Some residents who were evacuated from the area kept their sprinklers on.
CAL FIRE tells us the defensible space in this prestigious Ruby Hill neighborhood made the difference and at last check, no structures had burned.
“We had one little finger of the fire that might have got within 30 feet of the backyards, but there was great defensible space in that neighborhood which kept it for a majority, 200 feet away,” said Hernandez.
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Bay City News Service contributed to this article.
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