Inside Bay Area (California)
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A brush fire in the Sierra east of Modesto burned out of control Monday evening close to Lake Don Pedro, a key reservoir on the Hetch Hetchy water system serving cities from San Francisco across the South Bay to the Alameda County Water District.
State forestry officials say a campfire blazed into a chaparral of grass, oak and bull pines shortly after noon and by late afternoon had spread to within three miles of the Hetch Hetchy powerhouse at Moccasin Point. No homes were at risk.
Workers for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said the fire appeared to pose no danger to the Hetch Hetchy system, said commission spokeswoman Chandra Johnson.
Witnesses reported seeing the fire snap power lines but they were not connected to the water system, Johnson said. The powerhouse sends electricity to PG&E for use in San Francisco and elsewhere but is not needed for the supply of water.
California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Nancy Longmore said firefighters were going after the blaze on the ground and using aircraft.