Firefighters battle wildfire near Bay Area

By Simon Moya-Smith and Daniel Arkin, NBC NewsA wildfire that sparked Sunday in the hills east of San Francisco Bay had charred more than 3,700 acres by late Monday, authorities said, as it became just the latest front in California’s summer-long fire fight.Some 700 state and local firefighters battling the so-called Morgan Fire had brought containment up to 20 percent Monday afternoon, a jump f

Sept. 10, 2013, 4:13 AM UTC

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A helicopter drops water on the Morgan fire as it advances down a rugged hillside at Mount Diablo State Park near Clayton, Calif., on Sept. 9.Noah Berger / Reuters

By Simon Moya-Smith and Daniel Arkin, NBC News

A wildfire that sparked Sunday in the hills east of San Francisco Bay had charred more than 3,700 acres by late Monday, authorities said, as it became just the latest front in California’s summer-long fire fight.

Some 700 state and local firefighters battling the so-called Morgan Fire had brought containment up to 20 percent Monday afternoon, a jump from 10 percent in the morning. And while only one far-flung outbuilding had burned, NBC Bay Area reported, the fire still loomed some 100 area homes.

“The fire has grown significantly,” Cal Fire Division Chief Dave Shew told NBC Bay Area. It more than doubled in size from early Monday’s scorch zone of 1,500 acres.

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