Firefighters Have Busy Day Battling Several Blazes Across The Sacramento Region
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Crews were out in droves on Friday battling several fires across the Sacramento region on what was a red flag warning day.
The largest of the fires was burning near the community of Dunnigan in Yolo County. That vegetation fire grew to 120 acres and forward progress was stopped late in the afternoon. Cal Fire said more than 100 firefighters were involved in the firefight, which unfolded in the area of County Roads 85 and 11.
Near Camptonville in Yuba County, evacuations were ordered for people in Zone YUB-E097 as crews were still working into the evening hours to strengthen those containment lines. That fire, which is burning near Golden Chain Highway and Highway 49 in the Tahoe National Forest, was still active and forced a closure of a portion of Highway 49 that will last until late Saturday.
Back in Sacramento, several fires started in quick succession throughout the afternoon.
A mowing contracting company performing work near the railyards started a fire that quickly grew to 45 acres in size. The scene was at 7th and B streets. The Sacramento Fire Department said no one was injured in that fire.
"You could hear my garage start shaking, like I thought my car was going to flip over at one point," said Sacramento resident Elijah Williams.
Firefighters responded to multiple blazes in the same area of West Sacramento. West Sacramento firefighters first worked a fire early in the afternoon in the area of Village Parkway and Locks Drive. This fire grew to about five acres before crews contained it. No injuries or building damage was reported.
Not long after, another fire started in the same area near South River Road and Village Parkway. This fire grew to burn 10 acres and has been contained.
A third fire in West Sacramento popped up further south at Jefferson Boulevard and Burrows Avenue. This was a smaller fire that was contained fairly quickly and posed no threat to any homes.
Out in Rio Linda, one structure was destroyed and multiple others were damaged in a wind-driven fire along Dry Creek Road. Crews saved several homes as well as livestock, and no injuries were reported.
The California Office of Emergency Services utilized a state-of-the-art wildfire detecting plane that took off out of McClellan Park and flew over the Tahoe National Forest fire during the morning.
The hectic day of firefighting came as extreme fire weather conditions blanketed the region late this week. Heavy winds rolled through the valley and foothills as temperatures sat in the high-90s while conditions were dry — a combo that is prime for fire starts. The heat isn't expected to go away any time soon as highs will be sitting in the 90s through the next week and no wet weather is in the forecast.
"[The fires] weren't too bad today, so thankfully we had our firefighters out there and they were doing what they needed to do today, and we can't be anywhere without them," Sacramento resident Tracy Pruitt said.
