Update: Contra Costa Fire asks people to stop flying drones near Marsh Fire
PITTSBURG -- Authorities in the East Bay on Sunday instructed people to stop flying drones in the area of the Marsh Fire in Pittsburg due to air support that was being provided to fight the fire.
A tweet from Contra Costa Fire Sunday morning requested the grounding of all drones within a five mile radius of fire near 700 block of Willow Pass Road that roared back to life Saturday due to high winds.
While crews had stopped the spread of the fire by Saturday evening, it was continuing to produce smoke that was blowing into Antioch, impacting air quality Sunday morning.
A later tweet on Sunday confirmed that Contra Costa Fire crews were continuing to mop up pockets of unburned fuel located inside the burn area near shoreline. Authorities said access to the burn area was limited to hand crews and helicopters as the ground of the marshland area was too soft for vehicles.
The smoldering fire has been burning for weeks along the Pittsburg waterfront in eastern Contra Costa County. The flare-up Saturday afternoon sent a huge plume of smoke billowing over the area and brought air support resources from Cal Fire to the scene to drop thousands of gallons of water on it.
Cal Fire firefighters assisted fire crews from the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District.
Cal Fire sent three helicopters to the fire for water drops. An additional helicopter was sent from Santa Rosa to assist.
A large plume of heavy smoke settled over most of the eastern portion Contra Costa County, including Brentwood, Oakley, Concord and Walnut Creek and produced hazy skies in Stockton and parts of San Joaquin County.
Burning palm trees contributed to the heavy smoke.
The fire scorched about 200 acres before crews halted its forward progress shortly before 7 p.m.
Firefighters remained at the scene overnight mopping up hotspots and ensuring there were no additional flare-ups in the fire area.
