Midway Fire between Livermore, Tracy shuts down I-580 south of Altamont Pass
ALAMEDA COUNTY – An investigation is underway to determine if the Midway Fire started near downed power lines before burning more than 250 acres between Tracy and Livermore and shutting down Interstate 580 on Thursday afternoon, officials said.
The Midway Fire broke out at 2:51 p.m. near Patterson Pass Road and Midway Road in Alameda County south of the Altamont Pass, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire said the fire burned 262 acres before crews were able to stop the forward spread. Crews reported the fire was burning at a moderate rate of spread. Containment is up to 85% as of Friday morning.
The Alameda County Fire Department, which is in unified command with Cal Fire, said preliminary reports point to the fire starting near downed transmission lines. The department said PG&E is at the scene to investigate.
PG&E's website showed a power outage that occurred at 2:50 p.m. impacted 16 customers.
According to Cal Fire's incident update, the fire jumped I-580 and was held at the aqueduct. A "significant augmentation" of air and ground units responded to battle the fire. Those units will remain at the scene to make sure the fire doesn't spread further.
I-580 was closed from Corral Hollow to the Interstate 205 connection. One lane in each direction reopened around 6:30 p.m. It's unknown what time all lanes will reopen.
The California Highway Patrol said nine vehicles crashed due to the smoke and some people abandoned their vehicles on the freeway.
No evacuations were issued. Alameda Fire reported no injuries at this time.
Winds pushed the smoke east, in the direction of Tracy. Gusts in the area were recorded reaching 31 mph, according to CBS Sacramento's First Alert weather team.
