Little Fire burning south of Pleasanton in Sunol spreads; evacuations expanded
A brush fire in Alameda County quickly grew on Tuesday afternoon and prompted evacuation orders in Pleasanton and Sunol, according to Cal Fire.
Fire in Pleasanton, Sunol designated as Little Fire
Just before 3 p.m., Cal Fire SCU said crews were heading to the area of Little Valley Road and Hubbard Lane, south of Pleasanton for a vegetation fire. The fire, designated the Little Fire, grew to 75 acres about an hour later, and the first evacuation order was issued.
More evacuation orders quickly followed just after 4 p.m. as the acreage burned had doubled, and two additional zones were put under a warning. The warnings were upgraded just before 5 p.m. as the fire quickly burned hundreds more acres.
As of 6:39 p.m., Cal Fire said the Little Fire had burned 950 acres, and containment was at zero percent. At least one firefighter has been injured, according to Cal Fire's 6:22 p.m. status report on the fire.
Evacuations in Pleasanton, Sunol
- Up-to-date evacuation information can be found on Cal Fire's Little Fire incident page and at Genasys Protect, which shows evacuation zones on a map.
An evacuation order was initially issued for Zone ALC-072, the area north of State Route 84 / Vallecitos Road, east of Interstate Highway 680, and south of Callippe Golf Course in Sunol.
Around 5 p.m. the evacuation order was expanded north and east to Zones PLS-103, PLS-081, and PLS-080, areas east of the golf course and west of Isabel Avenue, which includes the exclusive Ruby Hill gated community on the eastern edge of Pleasanton.
Zones PLS-082 and PLS-079 in Pleasanton were also under an evacuation order after their evacuation warnings were upgraded. The areas are south of Vineyard Avenue and east of Bernal Avenue and the Vintage Hills neighborhood.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire.
Cal Fire said that firefighters were being challenged by limited access and hot weather, and were attacking the fire on the ground with engines, crews, and bulldozers, and in the air with tankers and helicopters. The agency said it was a unified command with Alameda County Fire Department.
The Oakland Fire Department said it was providing a mutual aid response with about 25 firefighters headed to Pleasanton as of 5:30 p.m.
Smoke from the Little Fire was expected to impact air quality in the East Bay, the Bay Area Air District said. The district urged residents in affected areas to stay alert to news coverage and health warnings related to smoke. Pollution levels were not expected to exceed the national 24-hour health standard and a Spare the Air alert was not in effect.
Air quality can be monitored at fire.airnow.gov.
This is a breaking news update. More information to be added as available.
