A stubborn grass fire east of Livermore that began Saturday night was finally contained Sunday afternoon after burning about 500 acres, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials said.
The department received a call shortly before 10 p.m. reporting a grass fire near Corral Hollow and Tesla roads south of Interstate 580. The fire, originally reported at about five acres, soon grew to many times that, officials said.
Alameda County and CDF firefighters used many engines and four bulldozers to fight the blaze, which CDF officials believe was sparked by a bird that struck a power line. A CDF helicopter dropped water from the air.
One CDF firefighter suffered a minor injury. The fire occurred in an uninhabited area and did not damage any structures, officials said.
Earlier on Saturday, in Contra Costa County, firefighters put out two vegetation fires on either side of the Cummings Skyway in the Crockett area.
The first fire broke out about 3:30 p.m. off Old County Road in the hamlet of Tormey west of Crockett and was contained about 20 minutes later after charring about two acres, said officials of the Contra Costa fire district, which assisted Crockett-Carquinez firefighters.
While battling the Tormey blaze, firefighters saw smoke over a ridge from the direction of Vista del Rio in Crockett, where a second fire had broken out off Grandview Avenue minutes after the Tormey fire. The Crockett fire burned about five acres by the time firefighters contained it at 5:40 p.m., officials said.
No one was injured and no houses or other structures burned in either of the Crockett-area fires Saturday. Officials did not know the cause of either fire Sunday.
