California firefighters battle wind-driven wildfire east of San Francisco overnight
livemint.coma wind-driven wildfire that continued not only burning but spreading early Sunday in an area straddling the San Francisco Bay Area and central California, authorities said. “Strong winds and dry grass have made it difficult for firefighters to contain," Cal Fire said in a Facebook post Sunday morning.
Interstate 580, which connects the San Francisco Bay Area to San Joaquin County in central California, was closed from the Alameda County line to the Stanislaus County Line. SR 132 was also closed from I-580 to SR 33 due to the wildfire, the California Department of Transportation said in a statement.
The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services issued an evacuation order for areas west of the California Aqueduct, south of Corral Hollow Creek, west to Alameda County and south to Stanislaus County. A temporary evacuation point was established at Larch Clover Community Center in Tracy.
Sunday’s high temperature for Tracy was expected to reach 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius), with no rain in the forecast, but hotter conditions are on their way. The National Weather Service said “dangerously hot conditions" with highs of 103 F to 108 F (39.4 C to 42.2 C) were expected later in the week for San Joaquin Valley, an area that encompasses the city of Tracy.
Wind gusts of up to 45 mph (72 kph) lashed the region Saturday night, according to meteorologist Idamis Shoemaker of the NWS Sacramento. Milestone Alert!
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