Placer County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man Wednesday after he allegedly started a brush fire near the American River canyon.
A woman reported seeing the fire shortly after 11 a.m., and also saw a man jumping fences.
A Sheriff’s lieutenant who responded yelled at the man to stop, but he kept going.
A crew from the Sheriff’s Office was training with a helicopter nearby. One sergeant from the group confronted the man and got into a fight with him.
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A half century ago Placer County Water Agency leaders finalized documents that led to construction of the Middle Fork American River Hydroelectric Project. Their foresight ensured development of a new water supply for Placer County. The construction was funded through a revenue bond with debt service, operations and maintenance costs funded by the sale of electricity generated by the Project.
The public is invited to attend on Thursday (May 2) at 4 p.m., a special PCWA Board meeting to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the construction of the Agency’s Project.
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The American River Parkway Foundation will conduct a spring cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday along 23 miles of the parkway, from the confluence of the Sacramento River to east of the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. To register or for more information, go to www.arpf.org/SpringForm.shtml
Camp Pollock, formally the Boy Scout Camp, soon to be under SVC’s management is a new 11 acre acquisition by the State Lands Commission along the American River and can be found just north of downtown Sacramento, under Hwy 160.
As a volunteer, you will lend a hand to Camp Pollock’s projects. The tasks include: upgrade and expand camping areas, assemble a court yard with an interpretive native plant garden, build benches, construct picnic tables and create a trail in front of Lodge for public access.
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A popular recreation area along the south fork of the American River in El Dorado County will be closed for two days this week for weed-control work.
The Bureau of Land Management announced that it will close the Cronan Ranch and Greenwood Creek parcels to public access Tuesday and Wednesday, when herbicides will be applied to control invasive weeds.
A notice of intent to apply herbicides will be posted on signs at the trailhead at least 24 hours before the application, and closure signs will be posted during the herbicide application, according to a news release from the BLM’s Mother Lode Field Office.
Broadcast and spot herbicide applications are planned along approximately 14 miles of trail edges to reduce weeds and make trails more accessible for recreational use.
“We are taking an integrated weed management approach to control invasive weeds throughout the Cronan Ranch and Greenwood Creek areas,” Jeff Horn, outdoor recreation planner with the Mother Lode Field Office, said in a written statement.
The weed treatments are needed to reduce invasive plants, predominantly yellow star thistle and medusahead, he said.
Land use practices, Horn said, have created extensive infestations of these invasive weeds throughout the Cronan Ranch and Greenwood Creek areas.
The Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) on April 10 announced the release of the Record of Decision for the Nimbus Hatchery Fish Passage Project.
Under the selected alternative, the CDFW will recommend to the California Fish and Game Commission a year-round closure of fishing from Nimbus Dam to the UGSS gaging station cable just downstream of the Hatchery. This closure includes Nimbus Basin, a popular spot where anglers have for decades pursued Chinook salmon, steelhead, shad and other fish species on the American River, a major tributary of the Sacramento River that flows through the heart of the Sacramento metropolitan area.
“Reclamation and CDFW have selected Alternative 1C, which will extend the fish ladder from the hatchery to the Nimbus Dam stilling basin and use the basin itself to hold and divert fish into the ladder and will permanently remove the diversion weir,” according to a joint news release from the two agencies. “The selected action was identified as the proposed alternative in the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report, which was released on Aug. 11, 2011.”
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Celebrate Earth Day by helping out parks
Earth Day isn’t until April 22, but you can get a jump on helping the planet Saturday by fixing up one of California’s state parks.
From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the California State Parks Foundation will run 24 projects across the state as part of its 16th annual Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. provided a $210,000 grant to the foundation and participating parks for supplies.
Sacramento-area events include:
• Volunteers will clean up around the American River and install animal-proof trash and recycling bins at the Auburn State Recreation Area on Old Foresthill Road.
• At Beal’s Point, part of the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, crews will install 200 feet of fence, treat benches with weather sealant, remove weeds, and clean, paint and repair kiosk panels.
Space is limited, so volunteers must register in advance. Go to the foundation’s website at calparks.org/earthday or call (888) 987-2757.
This year marks the 43rd anniversary of the first Earth Day, which was inspired by outrage over a massive oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast.
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Sea lions have again been spotted along the American River.
Several sea lions were spotted during the middle of January, with the sightings coming near the Harrington Way access point in Carmichael.
Fishermen have told FOX40 that sea lions have been seen in previous years during salmon season.
From FOX40.com >>>
A City of Sacramento public opinion survey about possible bridge construction has been completed. The Department of Transportation says more than three-quarters of respondents ranked a new crossing over the American River between Interstate 5 and State Route 160 as important or very important. Six out of ten people agreed a bridge should have vehicle, public transit, bicycle and pedestrian access.
“Unscientific” survey shows 78% think a new bridge connecting Sacramento with Natomas is a good idea.
Six percent said nothing new was needed.
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Flows on the American River through Sacramento will increase by 50 percent tonight to ensure enough flood-control capacity in Folsom Lake.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Folsom and Nimbus dams, will boost flows from 4,000 cubic feet per second to 6,000 cfs between 6 and 8 p.m.
The increase is enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool every 45 seconds and is expected to raise water levels in the American River by one foot. This is not enough to cause flooding problems. But people traveling or recreating along the river are advised to use caution near the water and watch for rising water levels and faster flows.