Second Mare Island Fire Chars 40 Acres: Vallejo FD

VALLEJO, CA — The Vallejo Fire Department said a 40-acre vegetation fire on Mare Island was 60-percent contained late Thursday afternoon. The five-alarm fire was reported around 11:30 a.m. and it burned an area adjacent to a 10-acre fire that occurred on Mare Island early Wednesday morning.

Fire Engineer Kevin Brown said firefighters have a line around the fire and are strengthening the line. The flames burned a fence outside a historic Navy cemetery but caused no damage to the cemetery itself.

The only structures threatened by the fire were abandoned Navy storage buildings, Brown said.

No evacuation orders were issued but students and staff at Touro University voluntarily left because of smoke in the area, Brown said.

Wind gusts of up to 40 mph caused the fire to jump three roads in the area, Brown said.

A 10-acre fire early Wednesday in the Mare Island Preserve in south Mare Island started when someone cut deeply into two power poles with a Sawzall saw, causing the poles to lean and power lines to fall. Two saw blades were found at the scene, Brown said.

Island Energy, which provides power on Mare Island, is investigating that fire alongside the Vallejo Fire Department.

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—Bay City News Service