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A grass fire Saturday consumed an acre and a half off Centennial Drive, near the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the Lawrence Hall of Science, before being extinguished by Berkeley, Oakland and East Bay Regional Parks firefighters. 

The blaze, which was reported to the Berkeley Fire Department at 7:41 p.m., began spreading up the hill from the north side of Centennial Drive toward LBNL. Firefighters responding to the scene contained the fire by 8:08 p.m. 

“It produced a nice column of smoke and scared everybody, but we took care of the problem pretty quickly,” said Berkeley Fire Department deputy chief David Orth. 

Because the Strawberry Canyon area, which includes Centennial Drive, runs along the Berkeley-Oakland border, the location is a full-response area, which meant that companies from both cities and the parks department responded to the call. The Berkeley Fire Department sent three engines and a ladder truck, along with 15 firefighters, to fight the blaze. 

A team from the California Department of Forestry also responded, but did not join the fight because the others had contained the fire so quickly. Orth said none of the area structures, including LBNL and the Lawrence Hall of Science, were threatened by the fire. 

The cause of the fire was unknown and under investigation as of Monday. Because much of the area is University of California land, the investigation will be directed by the state fire marshal. 

“For the moment it is being treated as a crime scene,” Orth said. 

California State Fire Department personnel said the results of their investigation would be made public later this week. 

A second, smaller fire was reported about a half-mile north of the Centennial Drive blaze around the same time. It had been extinguished by citizens by the time firefighters arrived at the scene.