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Pleasanton honors firefighters after 'Little fire' that burned 1,007 acres and evacuated thousands
Summary
Council members and residents on July 27 thanked firefighters, mutual‑aid partners and city staff for their response to the "Little fire," which the fire chief said burned 1,007 acres, evacuated more than 6,000 people and threatened nearly 2,000 homes. No structures were lost and injuries were minor.
Pleasanton’s city council opened its July 27 meeting by acknowledging the emergency response to last week’s "Little fire," praising firefighters, allied agencies and city staff for containing the blaze and protecting homes.
“Although the Little fire was everything but little — it burned 1,007 acres,” Fire Chief Aaron Lacy told the council, adding, “We evacuated over 6,000 people, threatened, close to 2,000 homes.” He also said one firefighter suffered a minor injury and was released that night. Mayor Balch and councilmembers described visiting evacuation centers and tracking the activation of the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
Council members credited mutual‑aid partners including Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department, CAL FIRE, East Bay Regional Parks and neighboring city fire departments for coordinated support. Councilmember Nyberg noted sheltering activity at the senior center, saying the last report she had was that “65 people sought shelter there along with 20 pets.”
Police Chief Tracy Avelar described law enforcement’s role in evacuations and tracking residents, and EOC coordinator Leo Lopez praised interagency collaboration and city staff who “played like they trained” to stand up shelter operations and communications. The council urged residents to sign up for AC Alert and to review household emergency plans on the city website.
The council’s public remarks and the presentations underscored that the city activated multi‑agency incident command, opened a shelter and managed a large evacuation without loss of life or major structure loss. Officials said they will continue community outreach on preparedness and make mental‑health resources available to residents affected by the incident.
