The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District has opened its new Fire Station 86 in Bay Point, nearly 16 months after breaking ground on the project.

The new station became operational Aug. 10. It replaces the historic Station 86, which is located one mile to the east and had been in continuous use since 1949.

Unincorporated areas of Bay Point, Pittsburg and other communities along the Highway 4 corridor will be supported by the new station, Con Fire said. Station 86 is strategically located adjacent to the Highway 4 interchange at Willow Pass Road.

The three-bay station is large and able to contain oversized equipment such as bulldozers. It is also set up to be a command center in times of disaster.

One other station recently opened in Oakley, Con Fire said, and Station 4 will soon re-open in Walnut Creek. Another new station will soon open in Brentwood, as well.

A video of the ribbon-cutting event can be viewed on Con Fire’s Facebook page.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.