Update: Firefighters Extinguish Brush Fire Along I-780

Update, By Bay City News

Benicia firefighters extinguished a one-quarter-acre vegetation fire along Interstate Highway 780 Tuesday afternoon, a fire chief said.

Firefighters responded with a single engine at 12:37 p.m. to the blaze just east of East Fifth Street, but upgraded the grassfire to a first alarm because of the hot, dry and windy conditions, Acting Fire Division Chief Joshua Chadwick said.

A fire engine from Vallejo's fire department also responded to the vegetation fire, Chadwick said.

Firefighters controlled the blaze at 12:56 p.m. No structures were threatened, traffic was backed up on the freeway but no lanes were closed, Chadwick said.

There were no injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

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Original post, By Cody Kitaura

Benicia Fire crews have contained a brush fire on eastbound I-780 near the I-680 interchange, but are still working to extinguish the blaze.

"Crews are still on scene but the fire progression has been halted," Division Chief Nicolas Thomas said.

Thomas said a single engine company was dispatched to the fire just after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, but officials quickly upgraded the call to a first-alarm fire and sent a number of other units to the scene.

Thomas said no injuries have been reported and no structures are threatened by the fire. He said the freeway is still open, and the only impact to traffic is from drivers slowing down to look at the fire.

He estimated the size of the fire at about 400 feet by 30 feet.

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