Cause of blaze that has charred 744 acres is still under investigation
Firefighters fully contained the Creek Fire, burning in the Sunol area of Alameda County, on Friday evening, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported.
The fire had been burning for about a week and razed 744 acres, according to Cal Fire.
The fire started on Friday, July 26, around Welch Creek Road and Calaveras Road in Sunol and was declared contained by 6:40 p.m. on Friday, August 2.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Cal Fire’s latest status report.
A total of 83 firefighters, six engines, three dozers and three hand crews, among others, were deployed throughout the week from the Alameda County Fire Department and Cal Fire to fight the blaze.
On Monday, an evacuation order for Calaveras Road was downgraded to a warning, allowing residents to return home as response agencies continued working in the area.
Following two relatively mild years, California is now experiencing its most severe wildfire season in 16 years. By July 30, over 629,000 acres — nearly a thousand square miles — had burned statewide, marking the highest amount by that date since 2008, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of data from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.
In Northern California, fire crews are currently battling the 399,500-acre Park Fire near Chico, which began July 24. The size of the fire is about 625 square miles, larger than the city of Los Angeles, and is the fourth-largest wildfire in California history.
