Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
By DANNY YOEONO
Martinez Tribune
MARTINEZ, Calif. – A brush fire broke out Wednesday afternoon near Rankin Park in downtown Martinez, threatening several residences.
The fire was first reported at 3:51 p.m. in the 100 block of Buckley Street, and climbed its way up the Alhambra Hills for several hours, sending ash and smoke throughout the downtown.
One home on Foster Street was just one firebreak away from the brush fire causing its resident, Nick Haro, to be prepared with a garden hose in case the fire jumped to his property.
Haro was advised to evacuate the vicinity but chose to stay to protect the house his family owned.
Haro said he had never experienced a blaze of this caliber in his 10 or so years in the home, describing it as a “wall of fire” with flames reaching approximately 20 feet high.
“I could hear the trees popping and crackling.”
Haro’s next door neighbor, Mikella Glass, was not home at the time the fire started but received a phone call from ConFire that her residence should be evacuated.
Glass advised ConFire that her dog was inside the residence and firefighters were able to retrieve the pup and bring it to safety.
Glass, who lives yards away from where the fire was, saw it at its worst while driving south on the Martinez-Benicia Bridge – a jarring sight.
Fire officials said approximately five acres burned before crews, including aerial firefighters, were able to contain the blaze.
The fire is still under investigation as of presstime, though the Tribune has received unconfirmed reports that “several people” were seen starting the fire near Rankin Park.
Anyone with information regarding the cause of the fire is encouraged to call the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District office at (925) 941-3300.
