Fire crews increased their containment early Wednesday of a wildfire that burned more than 1,000 acres south of Pleasanton, California, after breaking out Tuesday and forcing evacuations for hundreds of residents.

Firefighters had reached 40% containment on the Little fire by 8 a.m. Crews were strengthening their containment lines Wednesday morning after stopping its forward progress Tuesday night, according to Cal Fire. The blaze had consumed 1,007 acres.

A fire engine overturned during the battle, hospitalizing a firefighter briefly with what authorities called minor injuries. Authorities did not specify whether the fire crew member was in the engine when it turned over or what caused the crash. That person was already out of the hospital by Wednesday morning.

Cal Fire said no homes or any other structures burned.

Mandatory evacuation orders were lifted around 5: 19 p.m. Wednesday. Earlier in the day, residents in zones PLS-081 and PLS-103 had to evacuate. That area covers The Club at Ruby Hill golf course, the surrounding gated community of roughly 850 homes and nearby neighborhoods.

Other businesses in the area of the blaze emerged unscathed.

“We’re all OK,” Sue Couls, the manager of Ruby Hill Winery at 400 Vineyard Ave., said by phone Wednesday morning. “It didn’t really come that close to the vegetation. We didn’t lose any of the vineyards. You can see the char on the hills.”

The winery was set to open at 11 a.m. Wednesday with business as usual, Couls said. Asked if she expected at first that the fire could have been worse, her answer was short: “Yes, 100%.”

“The sky is blue. I thought it would be that hazy-smoky feel but that’s gone and the winery is fine. Fortunately, we were spared.”

The trenches that firefighters dug saved at least one business, according to Eric Callahan, the owners of Rubino Estates Winery in the 1100 block of Vineyard Avenue. He said a fire break at the end of the winery’s property stopped the flames as the fire approached.

“We felt really safe with all the firefighters out there,” he said. “It was definitely a crazy experience for sure.”

He said he initially feared the property would burn.

“It’s pretty much my life,” he said of the winery. “They stopped (the fire) dead in its tracks.”

Residents from other zones — ALC-072, PLS-079, PLS-080 and PLS-082 — were allowed to return home while authorities warned them to stay ready to leave again if necessary.

Joe Sabeh, a resident on Heinz Court in Pleasanton said he returned home between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m., after the evacuations for his area were lifted.

“You never think it would happen until it happens to you,” he said. “It really just puts things into perspective. It was absolutely horrifying.”

The fire ignited shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday near Little Valley Road and Hubbard Lane before racing across nearby grassy hills and sending a plume of smoke over parts of the East Bay.

Sabeh said he and his wife started packing about 4 p.m. and left with two carloads of belongings, six cats, and a Beagle dog. They’ve been in their home since 2022, he said.

Seeing flames rising along the hillside behind his neighborhood brought fear, he said. Having friends who had lost their homes in the Palisades Fire in Southern California added to it.

“You can’t describe it,” Sabeh said. “It’s all this fear. We just started looking at our house and wondering if we were ever going to come back. The biggest fear was not being able to come home. It’s our sanctuary.”

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