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BENICIA — Firefighters have controlled a multi-alarm grass fire Monday afternoon that led California Highway Patrol officers to close Interstate 680 lanes north of the Benicia Bridge, authorities said.
Shortly after 1:20 p.m., CHP officers learned of the fire near eastbound Interstate 780 lanes west of the East Fifth Street off-ramp near the Interstate 680 exchange.
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: A Union Pacific employee extinguishes hot spots on the train bridge after catching fire from a vegetation fire in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Firefighters battle a vegetation fire near the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Firefighters battle a vegetation fire near the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Firefighters battle a vegetation fire near the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Firefighters battle a vegetation fire near the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Firefighters extinguish hot spots on a railroad bridge while battling a vegetation fire near the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Firefighters battle a vegetation fire near the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Firefighters battle a vegetation fire near the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Motorist begin to slow down on I-680 northbound as smoke from a vegetation fire encompasses the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Firefighters battle a vegetation fire near the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Smoke from a vegetation fire encompasses the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Motorist begin to slow down on I-680 northbound as smoke from a vegetation fire encompasses the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MARTINEZ, CA - JULY 6: Firefighters extinguish hot spots on a railroad bridge while battling a vegetation fire near the Benicia Bridge in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, July 6, 2020. Police had to stop traffic on southbound I-680 near the foot of the bridge as crews worked on extinguishing the fire. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Firefighters first arriving at the scene found one to two acres with steep footing and scrubby fuels, with winds pushing flames toward the waterline and billowing gusts of smoke several hundred feet over the Carquinez Strait.
CalFire and Solano County fire crews worked to beat back the flames, while Contra Costa County Fire Protection District firefighters sent at least three engines across the bridge to provide mutual-aid support for what officials called the Clocktower fire.
After that smoke began obscuring visibility for nearby drivers, issued a Sig-alert at 1:39 p.m. blocking all Benicia Bridge I-680 southbound lanes from eastbound I-780.
Crews at the scene managed to stop most of its forward progress by 2:40 p.m., did not immediately issue any word about threatened structures or injuries. All lanes reopened around 3:15 p.m., the CHP said.
Crews in the area also responded to Rodeo for the California fire, which began as a grass fire alongside eastbound Interstate 80 lanes just west of the Cummings Skyway off-ramp. CHP officers issued a Sig-alert shortly after 2:20 p.m., blocking the No. 4 lane and Cummings itself to nearby traffic. That lane was reopened by 4:20 p.m.
Resources from CalFire and the Rodeo-Hercules, Contra Costa County and Crockett-Carquinez fire departments responded, working to contain the blaze at around 100 acres as of 4 p.m. and reaching 50 percent containment at 150 acres by 4:40 p.m.
— CrockettCarquinezFire (@FireCrockett) July 6, 2020
#Californiafire [update] Highway 80 in the Rodeo Area (Contra Costa County) Forward progress of the fire has been stopped at 150 acres and is 50% contained. pic.twitter.com/GobwpuT8Zo
