A Sunday evening fire smoked in one of San Francisco’s most wildfire-prone neighborhoods after a rogue firework detonated near Calhoun Terrace, igniting the precarious brush fire.
Despite its urban density, San Francisco’s wildfire risk remains unusually high, with likelihoods of forest fires expected to increase around 50% over the next 30 years due to a combination of urbanization and climate crisis outcomes. That said, true wildfires remain exceedingly rare within the city limits; the vast majority of fires the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) responds to annually are structural fires.
Sunday night, SFFD snuffed out a wildfire on Calhoun Terrace in the Telegraph Hill area — a rare blaze inside one of SF’s more metropolitan neighborhoods.
The San Francisco Fire Department is currently at the scene of a wildfire on Calhoun Terrace in the Telegraph Hill area.
Firefighters have successfully deployed water on the fire and are preventing it from spreading to nearby structures. At this time, there are no evacuation or… pic.twitter.com/4raLkvNHdk
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) July 6, 2026
“Firefighters have successfully deployed water on the fire and are preventing it from spreading to nearby structures,” the emergency department posted on social media around 10 p.m. last night, urging people to avoid the area. “At this time, there are no evacuation or shelter-in-place orders in effect. Please follow us for updates on this incident.”
The fire burned inside a densely vegetated section of Telegraph Hill; the neighborhood served as both a perch and gathering place during the infamous 1906 fires that engulfed over 80% of the city; historic images show crowds collecting on the elevated downtown area in the subsequent hours and days, getting a quasi-bird’s-eye view of San Francisco burning.
UPDATE — FIRE CONTAINED
The vegetation fire in the Calhoun Terrace area of Telegraph Hill is now contained and under control. There has been no damage to structures and no reported injuries. The cause of the fire is fireworks. Firefighters are continuing to mop up hotspots.… https://t.co/XM29ARRLaI pic.twitter.com/Voc0S4qJCF
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) July 6, 2026
The area’s narrow, windy streets made deploying fire trucks difficult and caused some traffic concerns. “There is a significant presence of fire apparatus in the area, and the streets are narrow,” SFFD wrote on X Sunday night. “Please avoid the area, whether you are in a vehicle, walking, or biking, so that firefighters can continue to manage and extinguish this incident effectively.”
On-site fire crews were able to contain the vegetation blaze within an hour of it being reported, later focusing on snuffing out “hotspots” once flames were subdued. First responders were quick to determine fireworks caused the fire; no injuries or structural damage were reported as a result of the blaze.
