 SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A small brush fire that broke out on the southwest side of Yerba Buena Island sent plumes of white smoke into the air Thursday afternoon that were visible for miles.
Mindy Talmadge, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Fire Department said that the fire went up a hill and involved quite a few eucalyptus trees. She said that access to the fire was the hardest part as there were no roads leading down to the bottom of the island where the fire was burning.
Progressive fire hoses were laid from the upper and lower decks of the Bay Bridge as crews worked to put the blaze out. A fire boat was called to scene as well. Talmadge said the boat was crucial to putting out the blaze because it had “an endless supply of water.”
The fire was first reported at around 2 p.m. when smoke was seen billowing near the west side of the Bay Bridge tunnel.
Firefighters blocked the right lane of the lower deck and left lane of the upper deck of the bridge, which severely affected the evening commute.
No structures or the bridge were ever threatened.
Traffic on the bridge was heavily congested well into the evening hours.
Photo courtesy of KCBS listener Florencio Umel
(cfu) |
KCBS' Margie Shafer reports
