A homeless man was arrested in Pittsburg Saturday afternoon after he allegedly started a vegetation fire.
The blaze broke out around 10:00 a.m. on Industry Road at Harbor Street.
Flames quickly spread to nearby a pallet yard.
Contra Costa Fire Protection District Fire Marshal, Robert Marshall said his crew with mutual aid had the fire under control just before noon.
“Unfortunately, the buildings in the pallet yard were completely consumed,” he said. “Mostly because we had some power lines that dropped, which made access to the site very difficult and unsafe.”
Once PG&E crews were able to turn the power off, firefighters could better assess the situation.
Homes in the area were never threatened by the blaze.
“No evacuation orders,” Marshall said. “The wind is blowing away from the homes, and so, we got pretty lucky there.”
A homeless man is in custody and has been charged with arson.
Marshall said the suspect set fire to some trash nearby that spread to the vegetation and then the pallet yard.
Active fire on Industry Road at Harbor Street. @ContraCostaFire is onscene. Please stay about of the area. Harbor Street north of East 8th Street is closed in both directions. pic.twitter.com/sQz6eMllKV— Pittsburg Police, CA (@PittsburgPD) August 4, 2018
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