300 Firefighters Respond to Wildfire in California

An afternoon grass fire burned more than 400 acres Tuesday between Pleasanton and Sunol before firefighters were able to contain most of the blaze by 5 p.m.

The fire was first reported around 3 p.m. alongside Interstate 680 at Koopmann Road, near the southern Sunol exit. Approximately 300 firefighters from Alameda County and the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection were called in to fight the fire.

CDF air units from Santa Clara County were also called in, said Alameda County Fire Assistant Chief Jim Purchio.

No injuries were reported, and no structures were damaged, Purchio said.

He could not confirm reports that a car fire initially touched off the grass fire, and said the cause of the fire was uncertain.

Smoke from the fire could be seen billowing over southern Pleasanton east as far as downtown Livermore, witnesses reported.

Purchio said he expected firefighters to be on the scene well into the night watching for hot spots.

Last week, firefighters battled a windblown wildfire near Livermore that grew to more than 10,000 acres, burning near a nuclear weapons laboratory and 500 homes. That blaze did not cause major damage.

Distributed by the Associated Press