Vegetation fire burns 100 acres of steep terrain in Marin County, forcing evacuations
Firefighters on Tuesday are continuing to battle a vegetation fire that closed streets and forced the evacuation of about 30 homes in Marin County this week.
The Irving fire had consumed 100 acres of brush in Samuel P. Taylor State Park northwest of Lagunitas, an unincorporated community in Marin County, within hours of being reported Monday night. About 10:30 p.m., residents on Mountain King Road, Portola Avenue and a portion of Alamo Road were told to leave their homes.
Shortly after midnight, fire officials announced the blaze was 10% contained. Officials said they are making progress fighting the fire with bulldozers, hand crews, water tenders and engines. No structures have been damaged, but roughly 150 are threatened, said Marin County spokeswoman Laine Hendricks.
Fire crews have been challenged by steep terrain that has made portions of the state park inaccessible, Hendricks said.
“That’s the main reason we haven’t been able to gain as much momentum as we would like,” she said.
News of the latest blaze comes as a difficult fire season continues to test firefighters across California. More than 1.2 million acres have burned so far this fire season.
Just north of Redding, firefighters are continuing to battle the Delta fire, which last week forced the shutdown of a stretch of Interstate 5. As of Tuesday morning, the fire had burned 53,311 acres and was 5% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the blaze, officials said.
The freeway between Redding and Mt. Shasta reopened Monday with travel reduced to one lane in each direction for about 17 miles. It is not clear when all lanes are expected to reopen.
A portion of the Delta fire has also connected with the nearby Hirz fire, which is 97% contained at 46,150 acres.
In Napa County, the Snell fire has burned 2,490 acres and was 50% contained as of Tuesday.
Twitter: @Hannahnfry
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