MARTINEZ, Calif. – Evacuations were ordered in Martinez Sunday afternoon after a fast moving brush fire broke out around 4 p.m.
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded to the two-acre blaze in the vicinity of Alhambra Avenue near Forest Way, about a mile south of Highway 4. By the time the fire was contained, it had burned 50 acres, though no structures were damaged. Evacuation orders were lifted around 6 p.m.
A number of spot fires started across Contra Costa County on Sunday, as a combination of dry heat and powerful winds created what the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Calfire) called critical fire conditions. In addition to the one in Martinez, fires broke out in Lafayette, Oakley, and Clayton, and a fire in Crockett forced the closure of both I-80 and the Carquinez Bridge.
