The Associated Press
 AP Photo/Chuck Lantz The wind-driven fire burns on Angel Island late Sunday night. |
SAN FRANCISCO — Firefighters battled a wind-driven fire that was burning out of control early Monday on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, forcing the evacuation of campers.
The fire started around 9 p.m. Sunday night. Early Monday it and had grown to 250 acres, Marin County fire officials said.
About 30 or 40 campers were evacuated from the island, and earlier the fire had threatened several buildings in an area known as the East Garrison, said Marin County Fire spokesman Mike Giannini. Giannini said the danger to the buildings had been reduced.
With more firefighters heading to the scene, about 200 firefighters will be in place to battle the blaze by daybreak, said Giannini.
The island is a state park with a number of historic buildings, including an immigration station that was the first stop for many incoming immigrants in the early 1900s.
“This side of the island has some of the most historic buildings,” said James Dexter, a state parks employee who was stationed on the island. Dexter said the World War I-era Fort McDowell was also on that side of the island.
Fire crews from Marin County and San Francisco were dispatched to the island by boat, as well as firefighters from the U.S. Coast Guard.
The fire was burning on the island’s highest point, Mount Livermore, which is 781 feet high.