Fire in San Jose? Santa Clara residents complain of smoke too as Angel Island vegetation burn impacts Bay Area

San Jose and Santa Clara residents feared there was a fire on September 23. This came amid heavy smoke in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. The smoke is due to a prescribed vegetation burn on Angel Island.

Smoke from a prescribed vegetation burn led to fears of a fire in San Jose and Santa Clara. Image for representational purposes. (Unsplash)At the time of writing, there are no reports of active blazes in either San Jose or Santa Clara. The former is about 53 miles away from Angel Island while Santa Clara is about 4-5 miles away from San Jose.

Several news outlets took note of the smoke in the Bay Area amid the prescribed vegetation burn.

“For anyone smelling smoke today, it is from the prescribed vegetation burn on Angel Island that resumed today after a two-week pause. The preventative operation by CAL FIRE and Marin County Fire has caused visible smoke and campfire odors across San Francisco and the East Bay. The prescribed burn is expected to run into tomorrow. The operation is expected to burn some 260-acres overall. Angel Island is the largest island in San Francisco Bay at one square mile and is visible from many surrounding Bay Area communities. Many Bay Area residents are likely to see smoke from the burns from 9 AM to 6 PM,” a local news channel noted.

The San Francisco Chronicle added “That smoky smell hanging over parts of the Bay Area isn’t a new wildfire. It is coming from Angel Island, where fire crews resumed a prescribed burn.”

Though the vegetation burn on Angel Island was prescribed, the smell of the smoke led to fears among locals.

“Something’s on fire,” one wrote, adding, “Yea it’s really BAD in the Richmond area.” Another said “Yea...we smelled it up here in hilltop and in El Sobrante! And it was Smokey a lil bit.” Yet another remarked “It smells bad here at Downtown Oakland.”

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Meanwhile, many pointed out that it was coming from Angel Island. “Yes, I believe the smell is coming from the burn on Angel Island. It’s pretty bad. I just had to shut all my windows because the smell is so strong,” one said.

A notice was issued by California State Parks about the prescribed burn on Angel Island. “Prescribed Burn at Angel Island State Park to Continue as Early as Sept. 23. After pausing of the September 8th prescribed burn at Angel Island Island State Park, California State Parks, in partnership with CAL FIRE and the Marin County Fire Department, plan to continue the prescribed burn as early as Wednesday, Sept. 23 to Thursday, Sept. 24,” it read.

“Community members should refrain from calling 911 to report smoke from Angel Island to avoid overwhelming emergency dispatchers. Prescribed burns conducted in State Parks promote habitat improvement and reduce fuel loads that have accumulated in the absence of historically frequent, low-intensity fires. All burning is dependent upon wildfire activity, resource availability, weather conditions, predicted smoke movement and fuel moisture. If conditions are not conducive, the burn will be rescheduled,” the notice added.

“Trail Closures at Angel Island State Park: Ida Trail, Sunset Trail, the fire road and Perimeter Road may be closed on and immediately following burn days. For more updates keep checking Angel Island State Park social media and the park webpage or use the Watch Duty app to see burn operations updates,” the statement also noted.

Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More