Firefighters make progress on 'Little Fire' near Pleasanton with evacuations lifted
ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Firefighters have made significant progress in their battle against the "Little Fire" near Pleasanton in Alameda County, increasing containment and stopping the fire's forward spread after a busy night of firefighting operations.
The fire broke out Tuesday afternoon and burned 1,007 acres within a matter of hours. Fire crews and aircraft worked through challenging terrain to slow the blaze and strengthen containment lines.
As of Wednesday morning, all evacuation orders have been lifted and forward progress has been stopped with 40% containment, according to CAL FIRE.
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CAL FIRE said helicopters and air tankers coordinated water and fire retardant drops while dozers and ground crews worked along steep ridges.
The progress allowed officials to downgrade a mandatory evacuation order for the Ruby Hill neighborhood to an evacuation advisory by Wednesday morning.
"An advisory is just letting you know that we have fire personnel in the area still working on the fire," CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Joe Ortegel said. "They may still want to have their bags packed and ready to go in case anything changes in that. We're just letting the community know that you're under advisement that at any point we could go back to an order and to be safe and to be cautious when working around all the fire personnel."
One firefighter was injured when a CAL FIRE engine rolled over, according to CAL FIRE. The firefighter was taken to a hospital and later released.
No structures were damaged in the fire, and CAL FIRE said it believes the threat to homes has passed.
"The community around here actually had very good defensible space around the Ruby Hill subdivision, and that really significantly helped us out on this continuing this fire and preventing it from getting into damaging the Ruby Hills subdivision," Ortegel said.
Despite the progress, fire officials said work remains ahead. With cooler temperatures and lower humidity, CAL FIRE said it is confident containment will continue to increase.
"We still have a lot of work to do out there, and as days come, we'll we'll you'll see the containment numbers going up," Ortegel said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. CAL FIRE said it expects to provide another update on the fire's progress Wednesday evening.
You can see the fire's perimeter in the map below.
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Grateful residents return after 'Little Fire' stopped feet away from homes in Pleasanton
Evacuation orders have been lifted for thousands of homes in Pleasanton after crews spent Wednesday mopping up hot spots and containing what remained of the "Little Fire," allowing residents in areas, including Ruby Hills, to return home.
Families returning to the community saw how close the wind-driven fire came to their neighborhoods after more than 1,000 acres burned in the hills Tuesday.
"It was pretty serious. You would never think it's going to happen to you," David Aboujudom said.
Another resident described the evacuation as a first-time experience.
"It was a little scary knowing that we had to evacuate. It was my first time," Muhammad Saad Jr. said.
His father, Muhammad Saad, summed up the scene as "Out of the movies. Out of the movies."
The fire spread rapidly through the hills Tuesday as strong winds pushed flames toward residential communities, forcing evacuations.
Muhammad Saad said the situation became increasingly intense as residents rushed to leave.
"There were sirens. There were trucks. There was CAL FIRE -- pretty intense. By the time we got home, neighbors on the block, garages open, minivans full. Someone had a piece of luggage on top of their car," Saad said.
Firefighters battled the blaze for hours after it remained at 0% containment until about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
During the response, one firefighter was injured when a fire truck rolled over. The firefighter has since been released from the hospital and returned home.
CAL FIRE officials said difficult terrain and weather conditions complicated firefighting efforts.
"Terrain has been a big challenge. A lot of this fire was fast moving with the winds, and so we've had a lot of challenges with that in the terrain -- especially getting over onto this side of the fire over in the Ruby Hills subdivision area," CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Joe Ortegel said.
The fire came within feet of homes in the Ruby Hill community, but residents credited community design and firefighters' efforts with helping protect structures.
"Somebody was thinking logically. They had, what I call a fire lane, probably 20 to 50 feet wide. So, they were able to access the fire. And they did a great job," Aboujudom said.
For many families, the evacuation was a situation they had only seen on television before experiencing it firsthand.
When asked how he remained calm during the evacuation with four young children, Saad said, "Four little ones -- my youngest is 18 months. Material is material; everything can be bought back. Everything can be made back. Safety of my children was my priority."
Residents said they are grateful for the work of first responders and are planning a gathering to thank them once firefighting operations are complete.
Residents evacuate as "Little Fire" burns in Alameda County
What started out as a normal day soon turned into a terrifying afternoon for Pleasanton resident Sue Fox.
"I saw the smoke coming down the hill. Quite a lot of billows of smoke coming toward our street and our house," said Fox.
Fox, along with dozens of others who live in the area, was evacuated Tuesday after the "Little Fire" exploded in size.
"I'm not really nervous. I'm a little anxious," said David Underwood.
Many residents ended up at the Pleasanton Senior Center, which was being used as an evacuation meeting point.
That included Julie Deane, who says she sprang into action after getting a phone alert.
Deane told ABC7 she immediately got a few belongings and put herself, her 84-year-old mom and another elderly neighbor into her car.
"I get scared later. I panic later. I get everything taken care of that I need to do no matter what it is, and then I look back at it and go ohhh wow," she said.
Outside the center, Pleasanton's mayor said it was important for him to be there providing support for his community.
"This is not something residents go through very often. It's not something they're very aware of. So given my personal home is right outside of that red evacuation zone, I can relate to what a lot of these residents are feeling," said Mayor Jack Balch.
While many residents would like to go home, in the meantime, they're happy to have a place to stay.
"We'll do whatever it takes to make sure we're safe," said Fox.
'The whole hillside was on fire': Witnesses describe fire
CAL FIRE took the firefight to the air in Alameda County as hundreds of acres burned.
"The whole hillside was on fire and smoking like mad," said Justin Mclean, who lives nearby.
In total, three helicopters dropped water on the flames and five airtankers worked together to drop fire retardant, according to CAL FIRE.
Dozers were busy at work along steep ridges along with fire crews hiking that terrain as well.
"Unfortunately, we did have a CAL FIRE engine rollover, one firefighter injury, was transported to a local hospital and is in good spirits," said Marcus Hernandez of CAL FIRE.
Throughout the day, all eyes were on the smoke in the air and the flames below.
"But every once in a while it would hit a tree, and you would see the flames shoot and spiral up what must have been 20 to 30 feet tall in some spots," said Mclean.
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Bay City News Service contributed to this article.
