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A brush fire engulfed over 1,000 acres in a northeastern portion of Sunol and forced hundreds of residents in the Ruby Hill and surrounding neighborhoods in Pleasanton to evacuate their homes Tuesday afternoon before they were allowed to return later that night.
The blaze dubbed the “Little Fire” by Cal Fire was anything but, growing to 1,007 acres by late Tuesday night before firefighters were able to stop forward progress. As of press time, Cal Fire reported the fire was 40% contained.
Seema Chawla was one of the Ruby Hill residents who had to evacuate along with all of her neighbors. She told the Pleasanton Weekly the entire evacuation was scary because it was the first time her or her family had ever experienced anything like it.
“We were like 20 feet away from where the fire actually reached,” Chawla said in an interview Wednesday morning. “We basically dodged a bullet.”
Evacuation orders remained in place for certain rural areas southeast of Pleasanton, directly to the west of Ruby Hill as of publication.
The Little Fire started a little after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday not far from the Callippe Preserve Golf Course in Pleasanton, according to Cal Fire. The location of the fire is on Vallecitos and Little Valley roads in Sunol.
Evacuation orders shortly followed, with the Ruby Hill neighborhood being first on the list as well as parts of northeast Sunol. Other neighborhoods to the southeast of Vintage Hills Elementary School and others located down Old Vineyard Avenue were also ordered to evacuate as the fire continued to grow over the course of a couple hours.
According to Cal Fire, one engine rolled over and one firefighter sustained minor injuries. The firefighter was transported to the hospital and has since been released.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
During the evacuation order, city officials opened the Pleasanton Senior Center as an evacuation support center where people could take refuge.
The next day, Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch took to social media to thank all of the first responders and city staff for mobilizing so quickly to provide assistance to those who were affected by the fire. He noted how the City Council had to postpone Tuesday’s meeting, so he and Vice Mayor Matt Gaidos could help coordinate and monitor the situation.
Balch said no structures were hit by the blaze and said despite a few displaced residents who stayed at the senior center overnight, everyone was able to return home.
“I would like to express my gratitude to our amazing community and team,” Balch wrote on his Facebook Wednesday morning. “PLEASE thank a firefighter, a police officer, a City employee, and your neighbors today!”
He also thanked all the other first responding agencies for helping tame the fire so people could return to their homes.
“Their support was essential to the results we see this morning,” Balch said. “They didn’t just do it as a job, they did it because they care about people, about our community. Thank you.”
But it wasn’t just Balch who thanked the community.
Chawla noted how the Ghai family, who live in Ruby Hill and own Burger King fast-food restaurants in Livermore and Pleasanton, opened their restaurants for all first-responders to eat and rest for free Tuesday and Wednesday. They also delivered bags of food to the senior center.
She said if it wasn’t for those first responders, and the help of people like Balch and city staff, who knows what would have happened.
“We have no words to even thank them enough for their bravery,” Chawla said, adding how the entire experience made her realize how unpredictable life could be and how nothing should be taken for granted.
She added how Ruby Hill residents are already planning some sort of event to honor those first responders sometime early next month and to raise money for any foundations related to first responders.
