Grizzly Peak fire 50 percent contained

A fire that sparked Wednesday in the East Bay hills and has burned 20 acres is 50 percent contained as of 7 a.m. Thursday, an Oakland fire engineer said.

The blaze was first reported at about 1:05 p.m. Wednesday near Grizzly Peak Boulevard and South Park Drive. About half of the fire is within Oakland city limits and the other half is on land owned by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, fire officials said.

Oakland Fire Engineer Carleton Lightfoot said at a briefing Thursday morning:

“We have a good handle on this incident.”

Lightfoot said fire crews expect “additional challenges” as the temperature rises again over the course of the day but are keeping the blaze from increasing in size despite a couple flare-ups overnight.

One Cal Fire firefighter suffered minor injuries after falling down steep terrain while battling the blaze, Lightfoot said. No other injuries have been reported.

Grizzly Peak Boulevard will be closed between Centennial and South Park drives until at least 8 p.m. Thursday, he said.

Fire department officials are advising people to avoid the area to allow crews to access the area of the fire without any trouble.

About 150 to 200 firefighters from nine fire agencies have battled the blaze.