UC Berkeley evacuates off-campus buildings due to wildfire

OAKLAND - The University of California, Berkeley says several off-campus buildings were evacuated as a precaution due to a fire spreading through a hilly, wooded area a few miles from the main campus.

UC Berkeley spokesman Roqua Montez says visitors and staff at the UC Botanical Garden were evacuated Wednesday afternoon in interest of safety and precaution. He said authorities also recommended evacuations at the Lawrence Hall of Science and the Space Sciences Laboratory.

Montez says the buildings were not considered threatened by the fire.

The fire was located in an area known as Grizzly Peak where the cities of Berkeley, Oakland and Orinda intersect.

The City of Berkeley tweeted that the 5-acre fire was partially contained.

Orinda-Moraga Fire Chief Stephen Healy says the blaze is not growing in size and that no homes are being threatened.