On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 21, Cal Fire reported a wildfire in the Sunol hills south of Pleasanton spanning 75 acres. Dubbed the “Little Fire,” the not-so-little blaze spread to over 1,000 acres before it was contained on July 25. (It started near Little Valley Road.) Evacuation orders were declared for nearby residents, and one firefighter sustained minor injuries in the efforts to contain the fire.
Alameda County Fire Department posted on their Facebook that firefighters from all over the Bay Area joined to fight the blaze. CBSNews reported that Alameda County and Cal Fire worked together, and that Oakland Fire Department specifically sent 25 firefighters to assist. Hot weather and lack of access made the task of containment more difficult, and fire engines, bulldozers and helicopters were brought in.
Seven volunteers from Castro Valley got the chance to support the people doing the dangerous work of stopping the fire and keeping the East Bay safe, providing 50 snack packs with meals and hydration to firefighters working the incident. They worked through the local Bay Area chapter of Rapid Relief Team (RRT), a global organization started in 2013 to support teams fighting Australian wildfires.
Mike Lewis, the San Francisco local team leader, who has lived in the Bay Area for the past 16 years, shared that the group started by reaching out to their contacts at the Alameda County Sheriff’s office, who put them in touch with the teams on the ground in Sunol. RRT members do not go into dangerous areas, but they provide snack packs to help keep the first responders going after hours or days of grueling, dangerous work.
According to Lewis, packs are made to provide “a large amount of energy in a small packet.” They are made to be high calorie and easy to carry, with meat sticks, granola bars and liquid IV.
Lewis explained, “Some of these guys don’t leave these scenes for many, many hours. Sometimes it’s all day and then all night, and some of them go on and on and on. They’ll just sleep for a few hours and get back into it because that’s how they’re trained to do their job.” Nourishing food helps these helpers get the job done.
ABC7 News posted that no structures were damaged in the fire. Fire season is only getting started for 2026, but the Bay Area is working together to be ready.
