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Alum Rock fire: Massive blaze in San Jose park at Penitencia Creek Road prompts evacuations; visuals show dense smoke
A massive fire broke out at the Alum Rock park at at Penitencia Creek Road in San Jose, California, on Thursday.
A massive fire broke out at Alum Rock park in San Jose, California on Thursday. The blaze prompted evacuation warnings from authorities. The California Fire Santa Clara Unit and San Jose Fire Department said they were responding to the five-acre fire that broke out near Penitencia Creek Road.
Multiple air and ground resources are enroute, authorities said. The initial post from the Santa Clara unit said firefighters were responding to a Tier 1 vegetation fire ‘approximately the size of three football fields’. While Park Rangers evacuated the area, people were urged to avoid the spot even as air support was called in.
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In further updates, the San Jose Fire Department noted that it had been raised to a Tier 2 ‘with multiple off-road-capable Type 6 Engines en route’. They noted that the rate of spread was increasing due to wind picking up but no structures were threatened at this time.
A further update said thatr reponse was upgraded to Tier 3. The map of where the fire was burning was shared by them as well.
Visuals of fire emerge
Visuals of the blaze began to do the rounds on social media. One person on Facebook wrote “There is a fire in Alum Rock Park. It’s spreading fast!!”
The video showed thick smoke rising as the fire appeared to cover a large area.
Another person shared images where a lot of smoke could be seen from what appeared to be a residential area. “Does anybody out there know with this big fire up in the East hills is located at? Maybe East above Alum Rock Park??,” they asked on Facebook.
Another page on the platform said about the blaze “Pretty large fire up at Alum Rock Park and Penitencia Creek - you’ll see and smell the smoke. Keep all involved in your good thoughts.”
A person who claimed to have gone for a hike to the park spoke about the evaucations that took place. “Went to hike in Alum Rock but there's a fire & park is closed & they are evacuating it . 3:15 pm,” they wrote.
What to know about Alum Rock Park
Founded in 1872, this is one of California's oldest municipal parks. It is nestled within the Alum Rock Canyon in the foothills of the Diablo Range and spans 720 acres.
