Deer Zone Fires Burning Near Mt. Diablo Grow To 1,450 Acres Overnight
BRENTWOOD (CBS SF) -- Firefighters are battling vegetation fires burning out-of-control in the Round Valley Regional Preserve near Mount Diablo that grew collectively to 1,450 acres by Monday evening, according to fire officials.
The Deer Zone Fires have forced the evacuation of 150 homes along Marsh Creek Road and Morgan Territory Road.
The fire had grown just under 300 acres over the course of the day, according to Calfire's latest update. The four fires had merged into two and remain at zero percent containment.
Monday morning, Cal Fire tweeted the acreage burning, saying it had nearly tripled in size overnight.
The so-called Deer Zone Fire complex was ignited by lightning strikes during Sunday's thunderstorms. The area is rural and in steep terrain on the northeast slope of Mount Diablo, making the battle even more difficult as the flames roar through the tinder-dry brush.
"They started at approximately 5 a.m. (Sunday) due to lightning strikes," said Ross Macumber with the East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. "Initially, we had four fires in the area -- two have been contained, two are still active fires."
Throughout the day Sunday, there were no major evacuation as the blaze burned in the rural valley. That changed Sunday night.
"We had some erratic behavior with the fire," Macumber said. "We are taking every precaution to make sure everyone is out of the area."
At around 10:20 p.m., the mandatory evacuation order was expanded to include all of Morgan Territory Road as well as Marsh Creek Road on both sides from the intersection with Morgan Territory Road heading east to the Round Valley Regional Preserve parking lot.
Evacuees from the Marsh Creek and Morgan Territory area fires were initially directed to go to either the Community Center in Brentwood at 34 Oak Street and the parking lot of the Safeway in Clayton. Fire officials later announced that the Clayton Library at 6125 Clayton Road was open for evacuees.
Evacuees were instructed to take only those essential items they had ready and could carry. Pets were required to be in a carrier or on a leash. Evacuees were instructed to lock the doors and windows to their homes.
Among those evacuated from their homes was Deborah Shea.
"I moved out here about 5 years ago," she told KPIX 5. "It's (evacuating) been almost every year. It gets really old. It's a scary process -- did you get the right stuff, the important stuff? The pets and all that. It took me an extra 1/2 hour more to get out since my cat was hiding."
Susanna Thompson and Tony Adams were directly under the storm in their home on Marsh Creek Rd. on Sunday. They were close enough to actually hear and feel the lightning bolts.
"Sort of like a Tesla coil like you see in the movies," Tony Adams said. "You hear the 'Zzzzz" as it's coming through and then the hair on your arm stands up because the whole air is energized."
Around 6 a.m. strikes began reaching the ground. One started a fire on a ridge above Briones Valley Rd. Soon, other fires began including one along Marsh Creek Rd and another on a nearby hill. But the biggest one started about 8 a.m. and Susanna Thompson called it in.
"We were watching strikes all around and you watch and go, 'did it go all the way to the ground? Is it actually going to start a fire or is it just an airstrike?' ... So you wait and see if there's going to be smoke and there was -- in two places," Thompson said.
