Benicia police responded to three multiple-alarm fires starting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, beginning with a vehicle fire on North Interstate 680 that threatened a self-storage area, a second blaze near Lake Herman and a third that flared near a green waste recycling company, Fire Division Chief K.C. Smith said Wednesday.

The department received a “string of calls,” the first of which described the vehicle fire on North I-680 at Bayshore Road, Smith said.

“This fire transitioned from a roadside vehicle into the extremely dry roadside vegetation,” Smith said. “The fire blackened in excess of five acres just south of the Bayshore exit.”

With the help of firefighters from Fairfield, Vallejo, Cordelia, Rodeo, Hercules and Contra Costa Fire Protection District as well as Valero Refinery Fire Department, Benicia firefighters stopped the blaze’s forward progress.

The fire threatened recreational vehicles stored at Fleetview Self Storage, Smith said.

Those battling that fire then spotted a column of smoke in the vicinity of I-680 near the Lake Herman Road exit.

Units able to leave the first fire headed toward the second, which was spreading into the yard of Organics Solutions, a green waste recycling plant.

“The fast-moving fire spread through the stored materials which were waiting to be repurposed into landscape material,” Smith said.

Valero Refinery firefighters and those from Rodeo, Hercules, Suisun District, Travis Air Force Base and Benicia provided mutual aid to the Cordelia Fire Protection District to bring that six-plus-hour incident under control, Smith said.

That grass fire, on the right-hand shoulder of North Interstate-680 north of Lake Herman Road, caused a multi-lane traffic backup that extended into Pleasant Hill on Tuesday afternoon, California Highway Patrol Officer Christopher Parker said Wednesday.

He said reports of the grass fire came in about 5:23 p.m. “Solano Fire responded to battle the fire, with three trucks.”

California Highway Patrol officers provided traffic control. The agency closed the interstate’s No. 2 northbound lane at 5:36 p.m. and issued an alert about the traffic situation at 6:37 p.m. Lanes were reopened and the alert was canceled at 7:45 p.m.

Parker said the origin of the fire hasn’t been determined, but it did not involve any vehicles.

Meanwhile, Benicia Fire Department units, joined by firefighters from other agencies, also were sent to a fully involved house fire in the 600 block of Rose Drive.

“The Benicia Police Department received more than 25 calls from surrounding residents reporting the event,” Smith said. As with the grass fire, he said, a large column of smoke could be seen for blocks.

“The first arriving unit reported that both a shed and vehicle located in the back yard of the property were on fire, but the residence only sustained minimal heat damage,” Smith said.

During the three multi-alarm responses, two firefighters received minor injuries, he said. Estimates of damage haven’t been determined, and the causes of the fire at North I-680 and Rode Drive were described as having been caused by accident, Smith said.

“Within this four-and-half-hour period, the coordination of fire department units and resources assigned to calls were managed using a flexible ‘move up and cover’ plan adopted by area departments,” Smith said.

“With only nine days into the summer season, the Benicia Fire Department reminds all Benicia residents ahead of the Fourth of July holiday that fireworks of any kind are illegal in the city, and to have a safe Fourth of July,” he said.