Massive Tracy warehouse fire could burn for days, smoke blankets Bay Area

Smoke from the blaze blanketing the Bay Area came from a 1 million-square-foot Medline Distribution Center in Tracy that firefighters said could burn for days. The fire broke out a little before 1 p.m. Thursday at the warehouse complex on Promontory Parkway near Hansen Road, and officials described it as one of the largest warehouse fires in the United States and one of the worst of its kind.

The scale of the loss made the fire more than a local emergency. The South San Joaquin County Fire Authority said the facility was fully engulfed, and embers were carried miles from the site as crews fought to keep the flames from spreading through the industrial park. Neighboring commercial structures and nearby fulfillment centers were evacuated, while residents were urged to shelter in place and keep windows shut because of the smoke.

No injuries were reported, and all 120 employees inside the warehouse got out safely. Even so, the fire spread quickly through the building after firefighters arrived to find the sprinklers and hydrants not working, a failure that helped turn the fire into a prolonged battle at a major distribution hub for medical supplies.

The consequences now stretch beyond the burned shell of the warehouse. San Joaquin County officials warned residents not to touch debris found in nearby neighborhoods, and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control was brought in to help test material from the fire scene. The concern is not only what blew out of the building during the blaze, but what may wash into storm drains and waterways once firefighting runoff and ash settle.

The site’s role in the medical supply chain raised another layer of risk. Medline activated backup distribution plans after the fire, and hospitals in the Central Coast and other regions were already assessing possible disruptions. FedEx paused operations at a nearby facility, underscoring how heavily the Tracy industrial corridor depends on a handful of large logistics sites that keep hospitals, warehouses and fulfillment centers stocked across Northern California and the western United States.

For now, officials are focused on containment, air quality and cleanup at a site they expect to smolder for days. What happens next in Tracy will determine not just the fate of one warehouse, but how quickly medical shipments, nearby businesses and surrounding neighborhoods can return to normal.