Janice R. Andrews
A wildfire that has burnt hundreds of acres southwest of Tracy has forced evacuations in San Joaquin County. As of Sunday midday, 14,000 acres have been destroyed by the Corral Fire, which started on Saturday afternoon close to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site 300. Cal Fire reports that containment has climbed to thirty percent.
Beyond the Tracy Golf and Country Club, the fire spread southward and eventually reached Lane Tree Creek, Interstate 580, and Bird Road close to the Granite Construction Vernalis Plant. It then leaped Corral Hollow Road and reached I-580. According to Cal Fire, it also extended between the aqueduct and the interstate.
Four hundred people have been allocated to the firefighting effort, and a Type 1 Large Airtanker has been sent in to assist. Although both organizations affirm that the incident is unrelated to recent controlled burns carried out by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Alameda Fire is also responding.
Residents living east of I-580 between Corral Hollow Road and S. Tracy Boulevard, as well as those living southwest of Vernalis Road near the Tracy Golf and Country Club and the Tesla Treatment Facility, are under an evacuation order. Additionally under evacuation orders are areas south of Corral Hollow Creek to Alameda and Stanislaus Counties, just north of I-5, and southwest of I-580, as well as the area between I-580 and the California Aqueduct.
The Manteca Unified School District in Manteca has a sizable animal shelter, and the Larch Clover Community Center in Tracy has been designated as a temporary evacuation site. Road closures include Highway 132, S. Tracy Boulevard, S. Manteca Drive, S. Chrisman Road, Bird Road, and eastbound and westbound I-580 from the intersection with Interstate 205 to Interstate 5.
The situation is getting worse due to strong winds; steady speeds of 20 to 25 mph and gusts of up to 45 mph are predicted through Saturday night. There is a high wind advisory in place from I-205 to the Altamont Pass and Livermore.
Two firefighters had mild to serious burns that required hospitalization. Even if wind might have played a role, the cause of the fire is being investigated.
