Grass Fire Burns Near Point Reyes Lighthouse

This post was updated at 6 p.m.

A 5.6-acre grass fire is burning near the Point Reyes Lighthouse, according to the National Park Service.

Crews from Marin County Fire, and an air tanker, are working to extinguish the Point Reyes grass fire, said Christine Beekman, a National Park Service spokesperson.

While the fire was along the lighthouse’s access road, the good news is “it is burning toward the ocean,” Beekman said, away from the lighthouse itself. The fire grew from two-acres to nearly six acres since the morning but was 75% contained by the late afternoon.

“It was foremost on everyone’s mind, ‘how close was this to the lighthouse?'” Beekman said. But there are “no worries” that the structure is threatened because it is largely protected from the fire by steep and rugged terrain nearby.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It is seemingly unrelated to the nearby Woodward Fire, Beekman said, which was 97% contained as of Sunday afternoon. The still-active Woodward Fire began in mid-August and burned over the Point Reyes National Seashore southeast of the lighthouse.

“As the raven flies, it’s about seven miles north and west of the Woodward fire. At this point, there’s no reason to believe it’s related,” Beekman said.

Trails, beaches, campground, and other facilities within the Point Reyes National Seashore area south of Bear Valley Road have closed already for the Woodward fire.

While the Point Reyes Lighthouse grassfire was first reported Sunday morning, it perhaps gained more attention on social media as the larger, 1,200-acre Glass Fire raged on about 60 miles to the east.

The Glass Fire has yet to be contained and continues to burn near St. Helena and the community of Deer Park in Napa County. For more on the Glass Fire, check out KQED’s full coverage here.