Investigation Begins Into Cause of Shell Ridge Fire

The blaze that scorched 180 acres in Shell Ridge Open Space had been contained as of about 8:30 p.m. Friday as Walnut Creek police joined firefighters in looking for a cause.

The fast-moving fire started around 4 p.m. near a walking trail southeast of Indian Valley Elementary off Marshall Drive. Contra Costa County Fire District Battalion Chief Keith Cormier said the cause is unknown. He also said it's too soon to classify it as accidental or suspicious.

However, he said, Walnut Creek police have joined the investigation because the fire started near a walking trail, he said. And, he told the Contra Costa Times that three juveniles were seen running from the area at the time the fire broke out, and police would like to talk to them. 

While no homes were damaged, a 94-year-old woman and her daughter, who live in a home at the top of a hill facing the north side of Shell Ridge, were told by police to evacuate.  They were able to return home after a short time.

Other residents of neighborhoods bordering the northern edge of Shell Ridge Open Space were warned by the governor's Office of Emergency Services to prepare to evacuate. But, that order was cancelled.  

The blaze was reported around 4:10 p.m., according to Cormier, who said it started about a quarter mile east of where Marshall Drive ends at the entrance to Shell Ridge. A neighbor said she heard about it from a teacher at the Indian Valley after-school day care program. Friday was the last day of school for the elementary school, and students had been dismissed earlier in the afternoon.

The fire burned along the east side of the school's playing field and within 10 to 20 feet of the elementary school's play structures. A resident said that about 30 children were at the after-school program when the fire started.  The fire never moved close to Indian Valley school buildings or to homes in the Lakewood neighborhood. 

The fire also swept around -- but missed -- a bench beneath an oak tree that Las Lomas High students dedicated Tuesday in honor of their slain friend, Adam Williams. 

Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the East Bay Regional Park District spent several hours dropping water and fire retardant to control the fire.

After the fire broke out, it burned in two areas. Firefighters from the Contra Costa County Fire District and East Bay Regional Parks quickly put out the left flank, Cormier said. The right flank burned east and up the steep side of the ridge, with the wind pushing it. When the fire crested the ridge, it slowed but moved down the north side in an eastward direction, through a forest of oaks and other trees. 

Mary Accacian, who lives at the edge of the Lakewood neighborhood, said she has been in her home for 19 years and has never seen a fire of this magnitude. "There have been spotty ones," she said. 

The blaze came the same day as state fire officials issued the first red flag fire warning of the season. The warning is expected to be in effect through Sunday for the East Bay hills and elsewhere around the Bay Area.