Grass fire burning near county jail in Clayton under control

CLAYTON, Calif. -- A grass fire that sparked Saturday afternoon in a mountainous rural area just east of the Marsh Creek Detention Center in Clayton is under control, fire officials said.

Crews from Cal Fire and the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District responded to a report of a grass fire off of Marsh Creek Road at about 12:45 p.m., Fire Chief Hugh Henderson said.

The California Highway Patrol reported that the vegetation blaze covered an area 100 feet by 100 feet at 12360 Marsh Creek Road near Aspara Drive, only several hundred feet east of the detention center.

The blaze burned about 1 acre and was under control around 3 p.m., a Cal Fire dispatcher said.

No injuries were reported, according to the dispatcher.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Marsh Creek jail, part of the Contra Costa County detention system, is nicknamed the "farm" due to its rural location, according to the jail's website.

The minimum-security facility usually holds about 150 male convicts serving up to one-year terms, according to the county.