REDWOOD CITY – A bush fire sparked an evacuation and injured a firefighter as it rose to seven alarms in San Mateo County near Redwood City on Tuesday afternoon.
Cal Fire officials said the fire started as two separate incidents in the Emerald Hills neighborhood shortly after 2 p.m. The first fire, known as the Colton Fire, was contained after burning several acres.
Meanwhile, the Edgewood fire, burning near Edgewood Road and Crestview Drive, continued to escalate, triggering a fifth alarm at 3:30 p.m., two more alarms were called.
Watching @CAL_FIRE Grumman S-2T AirTanker, which makes a refractory fall in a burning fire in San Mateo County in the Emerald Hills neighborhood. Great work of fire crews and operator of # Chopper5 @. @ KPIXtv #kpix pic.twitter.com/6dLzkO109h
– Ryan Yamamoto (@RyanKPIX) June 21, 2022
Cal Fire crews, including air support, responded to the scene. “We have a lot of resources on stage and a lot of resources are still responding,” Battalion Chief Ethan Peterson said Tuesday afternoon.
CAL FIRE CZU Battalion Commander Ethan Peterson provides update for #EdgewoodIC @sanmateoco pic.twitter.com/FeBkGOzBKI
– CAL FIRE CZU (@CALFIRECZU) June 21, 2022
During a briefing Tuesday, California Deputy Fire Chief Jonathan Cox said the fire burned 25 acres at 5:45 p.m. No structures were destroyed.
Also during the briefing, Cal Fire officials said a firefighter who responded to the fire was injured. The firefighter was taken to Stanford Hospital for treatment. The condition of the firefighter is not known immediately.
According to KPIX 5 meteorologist Paul Hagen, the crews faced challenging conditions with temperatures around 100, low humidity and gusts of wind around 15 mph.
14:40: Helicopter 5 on the way to this fire, burning in San Mateo County, in the hills above Redwood City. Humidity is only 12% according to the nearest sensor, with an east (offshore) wind with gusts up to about 15 mph. The temperature is 99 °, an additional challenge for the responding fire brigades. pic.twitter.com/V3qsyqilAO
– Paul Hagen (@PaulKPIX) June 21, 2022
The fire caused an evacuation in parts of Emerald Hills and Edgewood County Park, namely areas RWC-E002 and RWC-E003, WSD-E099-A and SMC-E036. Notifications have been issued for zones RWC-E003-A and WSD-E099-B.
A temporary evacuation center has been established at the Veterans Memorial Center, located at 1455 Madison Ave. in Redwood City. Meanwhile, large animals were admitted to Parking 6 at nearby Canyada College.
Chris, a resident who did not give his last name, spoke to KPIX 5 as he prepared to evacuate with his horse.
“We were prepared as much as we could and we followed the instructions. We are on the leading edge, we are next to the watershed in Edgewood Park, so we are prepared and everyone was doing the best they could,” Chris said.
The fire also threatened a substation of Pacific Gas & Electric Co., located on Cañada Road. Firefighters are on site to guard the substation.
The fire comes when several thousand PG&E customers on the peninsula are affected by a power outage. A company spokesman told KPIX 5 that the reason for the interruption was under investigation.
Investigators were taken to the scene of the fire. The cause has not been identified.
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