Grass Fire Briefly Threatens Concord Homes, Sends Smoke Over Area

CONCORD, CA — It took about an hour Monday for firefighters to gain the upper hand on a fast-moving grass fire that erupted off Willow Pass Road south of Highway 4 in the city of Concord. The vegetation fire broke out at about 10:40 a.m. in the vicinity of Willow Pass Road and Lynwood Drive, sending smoke throughout the area. By about 11:49 a.m., the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District reported the fire was 25 acres in size and 80-percent contained.

Crews with Con Fire, Cal Fire SCU, MOTCO and other agencies responded to the blaze dubbed the "Willow Fire," as it briefly threatened homes and other nearby structures, according to Con Fire.

NBC Bay Area posted footage from the air showing just how close to homes the wildfire was burning.

"Structures are threatened," Con Fire officials confirmed via Twitter. "Please avoid the area and allow emergency vehicles to respond."

In a follow-up tweet sent at 11:49 a.m., Con Fire said the Willow Fire was no longer threatening homes or any other structures.

Drift smoke from the Willow Fire was visible Monday in many surrounding cities; The Orinda Police Department confirmed in a Nixle alert that smoke seen in the Lamorinda area was from the vegetation fire in Concord.

Patch will update this post as more information is gathered; refresh the page for the latest.