Fireworks-sparked brush fire spreads to lumber yard

What started as a grass fire possibly caused by fireworks Sunday night turned into a 12-hour attempt to completely knock down a blaze that slowly scorched construction supplies in Brentwood, fire officials said.

The fire kept all of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District’s crews busy until 4 a.m. Monday and caused around $100,000 in damage because the blaze was burning through stacks of a company’s building materials, Fire Chief Hugh Henderson said.

The fire began around 10 p.m. Sunday with 100 feet of vegetation on both sides of Marsh Creek Trail burning near Hanson Lane. What grew to a 2-acre fire in an open field on Elkins Way then spread to a nearby supply yard belonging to Town & Country Roofing & Solar.

The fire was contained within an hour, but it took around 12 hours to extinguish the fire in the supply yard because of the presence of combustibles, Henderson said.

Fireworks are suspected to be the cause of the original vegetation fire.

The fire served as a climax to a busy Sunday for the fire district. The district received 36 calls throughout the day and had to rely on other agencies to answer at least 10 of them, Henderson said.