Fremont Fire In Salt Flats: 40 Acres

FREMONT, CA — A wildfire in Fremont's salt flats quickly grew to more than 40 acres Monday afternoon, according to the Fremont Fire Department. The fire is on Patterson Ranch Road and has been dubbed the Patterson Fire.

It was initially reported that the fire was inside the boundary of Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont but the fire department now reports that the exact location is northwest of the park, at the Alameda Creek Trail.

Fremont, Alameda County, and East Bay Regional Parks all contributed resources to the fire attack., and firefighters expect to remain there throughout the evening to make sure it doesn't flare-up again.

There have been no reports of injuries or structures damaged.

Smoke could be seen widely around the tri-city area, and the smell of smoke hung heavy in the air. The smoke was so severe that at least one business, Patelco Credit Union, closed for the day.

The Newark Police Department asked residents to stop calling their dispatch center about the smell of smoke.

Coyote Hills is a 1,200 acre park with marshland and rolling grassland, next to San Francisco Bay. It's popular for bicycling, walking, and bird watching.

The first alarm was struck at 1:29 p.m., according to the Pulse Point app.

When the fire started the temperature was around 70 with a humidity reading around 50 percent. It was a bit breezy, with wind speeds of 13-mph, with higher gusts, according to the National Weather Service.