Brush Fire Breaks Out Along Highway 4 In Martinez

MARTINEZ, CA — A brush fire along state Highway 4 in Martinez prompted a traffic advisory from the Martinez Police Department Friday morning as emergency crews rushed to the scene. Martinez police posted the advisory to Twitter at 10:04 a.m., asking motorists to use caution on eastbound Highway 4 and Muir Road.

The vegetation fire was burning between Pine Street and Morello Avenue, on the freeway shoulder. No structures were threatened or affected, police said.

A Kaiser Permanente medical building is located on Muir Road, close to the site of Friday morning's freeway fire.

Two Contra Costa County Fire Protection District engine crews responded and held the blaze to a half-acre, according to Steve Hill, spokesperson for the fire district.

The fire was first reported at 9:36 a.m.; Hill said dispatchers received 12 calls about it.

The blaze was moving uphill toward the Kaiser building but firefighters put a stop to that, containing the fire at 9:51 a.m., according to Hill.

"The name of the game during fire season is to get the little fires first with overwhelming force so they stay little," Hill said. "We are approaching the height of the fire season later this month, and probably two-thirds of the county is at heightened risk of wildfires."

He encouraged Contra Costa County residents to read the Residents' Wildland Fire Guide.