SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Firefighters in Contra Costa County have switched to a new tactic to battle the seven-week-old Marsh Fire burning peat and other toxic materials in Pittsburg.
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In an attempt to extinguish the 500-acre blaze, Contra Costa County Fire revealed they are pouring millions of gallons of water onto the flames.
The Marsh Fire is what officials call a "peat fire," where a blaze burns partially decayed vegetation often found in wetlands. At first firefighters tried putting out the peat fire from the ground, but this tactic proved difficult.
"It is deep, it is porous, so a lot of times it is very dangerous to put personnel or equipment onto it," Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Captain Steve Aubert told KCBS Radio.
He said his agency then spent weeks dropping water from the air, but that didn’t put out the fire either. Now, crews are turning towards flooding.
"We know that flooding is really the only way that we can put down this fire once and for all," Aubert stated.
200 acres will be flooded using pumps installed by the landowner to bring in delta water. The Contra Costa Water District is doing the same. "We do know that it’ll probably take at least 10 to 20 million gallons of water to be able to mitigate this threat. We're hoping to see improvement in as little as a week," Aubert said.
Tuesday, the Bay Area Air Quality District extended its air quality advisory for eastern Contra Costa County through Monday due to smoke from the Marsh Fire.
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