Growing California wildfire threatens Sacramento area
PLYMOUTH, Calif. - Firefighters in Northern California on Sunday battled a wildfire that has destroyed 10 homes and forced hundreds of evacuations in the Sierra Nevada foothills, while a fire near Yosemite National Park destroyed one home and grew significantly overnight.
East of Sacramento, the Sand Fire has burned about 4,000 acres, roughly 6 square miles, of steep, rugged terrain near wine-growing regions in Amador and El Dorado counties since Friday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The fire, which has also destroyed seven outbuildings, was 35 percent contained Sunday morning, but threatens hundreds of homes, CalFire spokeswoman Lynne Tolmachoff said. It could grow again Sunday as firefighters brace for high wind and triple-digit heat in the drought-stricken region.
"All of the vegetation in the area is struggling. It's burning very easily," Tolmachoff said. "It causes the fire to be a lot hotter and to spread more easily."
West of Yosemite National Park, a wildfire that began Saturday afternoon quadrupled in size overnight to 2,100 acres, or more than 3 square miles, and was burning out of control Sunday. It destroyed one home in the small community of Foresta, adjacent to the park, Ranger Scott Gediman said. The park itself remained open.
The Sand Fire in the Sierra foothills has prompted authorities to evacuate about 500 homes and close several roads near the town of Plymouth. Nearly 1,500 firefighters, aided by aircraft including a DC-10 air tanker, were working to control the blaze.
CalFire officials said a vehicle that drove over dry vegetation started the fire, which has sent up huge plumes of smoke and worsened air quality in the Sacramento area.
Alfred Shults, his wife, Carolyn, and their granddaughter fled their home in El Dorado County on Friday after receiving an automated telephone call ordering residents to evacuate, according to the Sacramento Bee. Before he left, Shults said he packed as much as he could into his vehicle and turned on a sprinkler to soak the area around his beloved motorcycle.
"We just wanted to get out of there, and hope there's something left when we get back," Alfred Shults, 65, told the Sacramento Bee on Saturday as they waited for news at an evacuation center in Placerville.
An evacuation warning was in effect for the Outingdale community in El Dorado County. Todd Jenson told CBS Sacramento he hadn't been told to go, but many of his neighbors had.
"Is their house still there? Are their animals still there?" Jenson said about his neighbors' concerns.
He said he has been going around checking on their properties, making sure they are still standing. But he said he's also preparing for that doorknock telling him to get out.
"You grab your family. That's the most important thing, that's what I told my wife. We have a 2-month-old baby at home and a 3-year-old," Jenson said. "My family is first."
Meanwhile, about 400 firefighters aided by fixed-wing helicopters were battling the flames Yosemite, Gediman said. The cause wasn't immediately known.
About 100 homes in Foresta and the small community of Old El Portal were evacuated. Two shelters were opened for people and animals.
"There have been no injuries so far, which is wonderful," Gediman said.
The park itself, home to such sites as Half Dome mountain, Yosemite Meadows, a grove of Giant Sequoia trees and other wonders, remained open Sunday. None of its treasures were threatened, Gediman said, although some areas were smoky.
The Crane Flat campground and Highway 120, a major highway leading to the park from the San Francisco Bay Area, were closed, but other roads were open. So were hotels and other amenities.
Wildfires also burned in other Western states, including Colorado and Utah. The nation's largest wildfire, the 618-square-mile Buzzard Complex in eastern Oregon, was 95 percent contained Saturday. Crews in north-central Washington made progress on the 390-square mile Carlton Complex wildfire that has burned an estimated 300 homes.