SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California firefighters are expected to begin extinguishing a wind-fueled wildfire that has scorched thousands of acres 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of San Francisco, destroyed one home and forced the evacuations of communities near the Central California city of Tracy.
The fire broke out Saturday afternoon in an overgrown hillside area managed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of the country’s leading centers for nuclear weapons science and technology. The cause is under investigation.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the research center was under no immediate threat from the blaze, known as the Corral Fire, which had burned about 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) and was 30 percent contained by Sunday afternoon.
Thousands of residents in the area, including parts of Tracy, a city of 100,000 people, were ordered to flee to evacuation centers. Tracy is about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of California’s capital, Sacramento.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira said Sunday afternoon that the fire had “spread to residences in the area,” completely burning one home. Because winds and weather were calm Sunday, Silveira said he did not expect the fire to spread.
Silveira said two firefighters suffered minor to moderate burns Saturday but are expected to make a full recovery.
Lawrence Livermore University spokesman Paul Rhyne said in a statement to The Associated Press early Sunday that the wildfire posed no threat to the institute’s facilities or operations and that the institution had already left the scene.
“As a precautionary measure, we have activated our emergency operations centre to monitor the situation throughout the weekend,” Rhine said.
Pictures showed a wall of flames moving over the dry land as plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky.
The fires 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, but they had reopened by Sunday afternoon.
The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services issued evacuation orders for areas west of California Aqueduct, south of Coral Hollow Creek, western Alameda County and southern Stanislaus County. A temporary evacuation shelter was set up at the Larch Clover Community Center in Tracy. The orders were still in effect as of early Sunday afternoon.
The high temperature in Tracy on Sunday is expected to reach 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius), and while no rain is forecast, temperatures are expected to rise further.
The National Weather Service said the San Joaquin Valley, including Tracy, was expected to experience “dangerously hot” temperatures of up to 103 to 108 degrees (39.4 to 42.2 C) later this week. The region was hit by wind gusts of up to 45 mph (72 kph) on Saturday night, said Idamis Shoemaker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
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Peipert reported from Denver.
