A power vault fire near a major Chevron natural gas pipeline junction Wednesday night triggered the evacuation of thousands in Bay Point and Pittsburg, officials said.
Around 4,000 people were forced to flee from 1,400 homes, officials said.
Assistant Fire Chief Terence Carey said a small vegetation fire erupted in the area Wednesday afternoon. Crews extinguished the fire without incident but were called back to the scene when they were alerted to the vault fire.
“There is an active fire in the vault,” Carey told reporters Thursday morning. “We are not sending our firefighters in there until we know it is safe.’
Officials said there was “no threat of explosion at this point.”
Chevron officials said they were contacted at around 8 p.m. Wednesday to notify them of the blaze.