Updates article on status of bridge and highway closure
A portion of Interstate 80 has reopened after fast-moving brush fires closed the highway near the Carquinez Bridge.
The California Highway Patrol tweeted yesterday that Interstate 80 near the bridge has reopened to traffic.
Fast-moving brush fires had closed portions of Interstate 80 in northern California on October 27, forcing evacuations in Contra Costa County and at the California Maritime Academy.
For part of the day, Interstate 80 was closed between the junction of Highway 4 in Contra Costa County to the junction of Interstate Highway 780 in Solano County, according to the California Department of Transportation. Traffic was being diverted at the toll plaza north of the Carquinez Bridge, according to a news report from ABC affiliate KGO in San Francisco.
As Interstate 80 crosses the waters of the Carquinez Strait, it passes through Richmond, roughly 17-18 miles south of Vallejo, and eventually reaches Oakland and San Francisco.
The fire near Vallejo prompted the evacuation of California Maritime Academy, according to a recent tweet. “The fire has jumped the freeway,” the tweet said. The fire near Vallejo also forced the evacuations of portions of Vallejo.
Meanwhile, another fire south of the strait caused the temporary evacuation of portions of Crockett, according to the community warning system of the Office of the Sheriff for Contra Costa County. The evacuation notice has since lifted.
Dry land conditions and “unprecedented” high winds have resulted in numerous fires within the state, prompting California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) to declare a statewide emergency on October 27. The Kincade fire in Sonoma County has burned more than 30,000 acres to date and has led to the evacuation of almost 200,000 people, while the Tick fire in southern California caused the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents, the governor’s office said.
Earlier this month, Crockett was the scene of another fire that destroyed two storage tanks holding ethanol and closed Interstate 80 between Highway 4 and the Carquinez Bridge.