Grass fire near interchange of Highway 4 and Highway 680 contained

Firefighters needed two hours to contain a two-alarm grass fire near the junction of state Highway 4 and Interstate Highway 680 in Pacheco that spread to a storage rental facility and damaged about 30 units, a spokesman said.

The fire started about 2:43 p.m. and was halted at 4:43 p.m., said Steve Hill of the Contra Costa Fire Protection District, who added that crews will be doing mop-up and looking for hot spots that could rekindle well into the night.

Many of the 470 storage units have vehicles, he said.

Hill said that 90 percent of the recent fires of this type “are started by human activity,” particularly along a highway where a tossed cigarette or vehicle malfunction can quickly spark dry vegetation.

Hill said:

“These are very high fire danger times and it’s going to be worse between now and October. … We need people to be responsible.”

No injuries have been reported.