SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California firefighters aided by aircraft battled a wind-driven wildfire burning Saturday in an area straddling the San Francisco Bay Area and central California, authorities said.
Gusty winds have fueled the Corral Fire burning near the city of Tracy, 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of San Francisco, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the city of Livermore, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
Late Saturday, Cal Fire updated the size of the fire to 13.7 square miles (35.6 square kilometers) from an earlier report of 7 square miles (18 square kilometers).
Interstate 580, which connects the San Francisco Bay Area to San Joaquin County in central California, was closed in both directions from Corral Hollow Road to Interstate 5 due to the lack of visibility from the smoke, the California Department of Transportation said in a statement.
As dark plumes of smoke traveled high into the sky, the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services issued an evacuation order, pinpointing the wildfire in an area east of Interstate 580. Residents between Corral Hollow Road and Tracy Boulevard were ordered to leave their homes, with residents south of Tracy Boulevard told to be prepared for evacuation.
The Alameda County Fire Department did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking confirmation of a news report that two firefighters were injured.
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