A fire that broke out at the end of a nature reserve in the unincorporated district of San Mateo burned about 25 acres by early Tuesday night, prompting evacuation orders for 1,133 homes during the day, officials said.
People called 911 to report the wildfire – which began as at least two fires – shortly before 2:30 p.m., according to Jonathan Cox, deputy chief of the San Mateo department at Cal Fire. Firefighters were able to capture the smaller Colton Fire after it gnawed several acres so it posed no threat later in the afternoon, Cox said.
The larger Edgewood Fire proved more difficult to put out and was controlled by 5% when dusk set in at 20:30 Shortly after 20:00, officials announced that all evacuation orders had been reduced to warnings and evacuation warnings. issued earlier in the day are canceled.
“It’s a narrow, narrow road and a lot of property mixed with a lot of vegetation,” Cox said, informing reporters at the Woodside Fire Department.
As streams of smoke rose over the dry, coniferous hills in the afternoon, Cal Fire’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit asked motorists and passersby to avoid the area near Edgewood Road and Crestview Drive, where the fire broke out. For hours, the clumsy fire spread north through a corner roughly bounded by Woodside, Redwood City and Edgewood Park and Nature Reserve.
In a tweet, the San Mateo County Sheriff warned of a “rapid grass fire” and ordered people to evacuate an area around Maple Street bordering the lake on the northeast side, the golf course to the south and the reserve, which is crossed by hiking trails. westwards. The sheriff also advised residents to evacuate the area between Emerald Hills and Interstate 280.
Fast moving grass fire. If you live in the red zone, you must evacuate. If you live in the yellow zone, it is advisable to evacuate at this time. The place to evacuate / reunite is the College of Canada Theater pic.twitter.com/FXGQR7u9GE
– San Mateo County SO (@SMCSheriff) June 21, 2022
Firefighters responded to a fire on Edgewood Road and Crestview Drive in San Mateo County. Please avoid the area and watch out for emergency vehicles on the road. pic.twitter.com/EqkT03malB
– CAL FIRE CZU (@CALFIRECZU) June 21, 2022
An evacuation center was established at 1455 Madison Street in Redwood City, along with a large animal living area in the parking lot of Cañada College. By early evening, 1,133 homes had been ordered to be evacuated, although those orders had been reduced to warnings before nightfall.
“We have a lot of resources at the scene and a lot of resources are still responding,” Cal Fire CZU Battalion Chief Ethan Peterson told reporters late Tuesday. He noted that helicopters extinguished the flames with a moderator.
The constant heat is likely to force firefighters to continue fighting the Edgewood fire all night, “until we get some restraint,” Cox said. Although no residents were injured, a firefighter was injured on the line and transported to hospital. No structures were damaged until late in the afternoon, but many were in danger, including the PG&E substation on Cañada Road.
“We are seeing fire behavior that is weeks ahead of what we usually are” in mid-June, Cox said, referring to “unstable weather” with dry air, sea breezes and a visible lack of fog.
Smoke surrounding I-280 made it difficult for drivers to see. As the highway remained open, it was congested with traffic and ramps for Edgewood and Jefferson were closed at 5:30 p.m., said San Mateo County Sheriff’s spokesman Javier Acosta.
Stanford University campus and other parts of San Mateo County have lost power; but it was not immediately clear whether the interruptions were related to the fire. San Mateo College also lost power on Tuesday, forcing the campus to close and cancel all private hours. Officials tweeted that the school would reopen on Wednesday.
The Edgewood fire came on the first day of what could be a vicious summer, with temperatures rising to lows in parts of the Gulf region and forecasts for dry thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday. The extreme heat, the parched landscape and the monsoon moisture invading from the southeast have sparked much advice from the National Weather Service.
This is an evolving story and will be updated.
Rachel Swann is a full-time writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
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