Caldor Fire Evacuees Told To Leave Amador County Fairgrounds
PLYMOUTH (CBS13) - The dozens of Caldor Fire evacuees camping at the Amador County Fairgrounds were told to go by Thursday morning. The animals can stay, but the humans cannot.
These evacuees say they're frustrated to leave, not because of where they'll stay, but who they'll be leaving.
Ralph Lyman, an Omo Ranch evacuee, says he got a letter Tuesday saying he and his wife Patti will need to pack up their 2 dogs, 2 parrots and their tent and move on. Other larger animals can stay.
"They told us we had two days to leave. By [10 a.m.] Thursday, we were going to be evicted," he said.
Many of the evacuees from El Dorado County have formed a community at the fairgrounds, parking their RVs and trucks.
The space is housing 500 evacuated animals from all over, including dozens of horses and chickens who are allowed to stay.
Evacuees CBS13 spoke with say they don't want to leave their animals or the people they've connected with.
"We're becoming a family and they want to break us up," said Lyman.
The fairgrounds is the main evacuation center for people and animals in Amador County.
The Amador County Sheriff's Office says, unknown to the county and the Office Of Emergency Services, the fairgrounds staff allowed people from El Dorado County to move in animals and then let their owners stay, too.
Because the fairgrounds is not set up as an official shelter space, it's not equipped to house people, and can't act as an official shelter.
One of the issues is dry camping. The fairgrounds don't supply water, power or sewer to the evacuees.
"It takes an army of people to efficiently and properly run a shelter," said Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman.
Two official shelters in El Dorado County say they have plenty of space. But evacuees say they don't want to give up this sense of community they've formed at the fairgrounds.
"We're going to stay here until they make us leave," said Lyman.
The sheriff's office says they won't be evicting anyone or forcing them off the property.
According to the Red Cross, here is a list of available shelters as of Wednesday afternoon:
89410 Douglas Co. Comm & Senior Ctr, 1329 Waterloo Ln
95422 Clear Lake Senior Ctr, 3245 Bowers Rd
95540 Fireman's Pavilion @ Rohner Park, 9 Park St
95573 Willow Creek Bible Church, 39 Barannan Mountain Rd
95640 Evelyn Bishop Hall, 701 CA 124
95682 Cameron Park Comm Ctr, 2502 Country Club Dr
95667 Green Valley Comm Ch, 3500 Mo Flat Rd
95762 Rolling Hills Ch, 800 White Rock Rd
95971 Springs of Hope Church, 59 Bell Ln
96003 Shasta College Gym, 11555 Old Oregon Trail
96122 Holy Family Church, 108 Taylor Ave
96130 Lassen Comm College, 478-200 Hwy 239
Current Temporary Evacuation Points:
95640 Amador Fairgrounds, 18621 Sherwood St