Category Archives: Fire

Fire, safety, Wildlife

Rains May Bring Danger In Aftermath Of King Fire

ike Murphy is fearing the worst in the aftermath of the King Fire that nearly burned his home last month.

“I’m worried about the big rocks rolling down the hill and into this property and perhaps into my structures that I have here,” Murphy said, as he stood under darkening skies Tuesday afternoon.

He has reason to worry.

“There’s a large risk still of mud slides and debris flows when we start getting rain,” cautioned El Dorado National Forest District Ranger Richard Thornburgh, as he stood beside his headquarters building just a couple of miles southwest of Mike Murphy’s home.

Thornburg said a significant rain event could cause serious damage to the ecology of the 160 square miles of charred national forest land left by the King Fire.

“There’s nothing to really stop the water once it starts flowing over the bare earth once it’s all been burned off,” Thornburgh said. “Inside or even downstream of the fire, there can be flash flooding.”

Flames charred the soil, leaving it powdery white, incinerating tree and plant roots that once held it in place. In some areas, the fire burned so hot that it baked the soil into a water-resistant layer.

“It makes them what we call hydrophobic in some areas and so it actually makes a layer that the water just sheds off,” Thornburgh said.

Above Murphy’s place on the north side of the American River’s south fork, there are loosened boulders that could be sent toppling down onto his property.

“They will come down the hill. There’s just nothing gonna stop ’em,” Murphy said, looking up at the steep hillside above his property.

More at News10.net >>>

Fire, Fish, safety, Water, Wildlife

Vast Landscape Charred By King Fire Will Receive Emergency Treatment

Rugged and isolated, the Rubicon River Valley on the border of El Dorado and Placer counties was for many years an idyll of old growth trees and icy swimming holes. Then the King fire roared through last month, turning a 20-mile stretch of the canyon into a vast dead zone of ashen earth and smoldering stumps.

Experts now worry that the devastation and the extreme temperatures of the fire, which scorched much of the soil and reduced its ability to hold together and absorb runoff, could lead to floods and mudslides when winter storms arrive. The same conditions affect parts of the south fork of the American River near Pollock Pines, where an arsonist allegedly started the 98,000-acre King fire on Sept. 13.

Members of the U.S. Forest Service’s Burned Area Emergency Response team, or BAER, swooped in last week, as the fire was finally contained, to assess the immediate dangers remaining in its aftermath. Members include botanists, hydrologists and geologists. Their job is to deal with such immediate threats as falling trees and crumbling roads.

BAER coordinator Eric Nicita said possible mudslides are a major concern, because when the top layer of soil cooks, it looses the fungi, bacteria and other organic material that hold it together and allow it to absorb water. In these conditions, rain runs through soil and tears it down instead of percolating into the earth.

“The only thing the water can do is roll downslope,” said Nicita, a soil scientist with the Forest Service. “All of a sudden, your flow is increasing incredibly.”

More at SacBee.com >>>
Fire, safety, Water, Wildlife

Western States Trail, Other Routes Reopen After King Fire Closures

Tahoe National Forest officials announced that the Western States Trail and other routes closed due to the King fire have reopened.

Given the progress in fire suppression and repair efforts, the road and trail closures associated with the fire in the American River Ranger District have been lifted, according to a Forest Service news release.

Officials announced late Monday that repairs to the Western States Trail and reconstruction of the Swinging Bridge and smaller Pacific Slab Bridge are complete as a result of thousands of hours of volunteer and Forest Service efforts. The trail closure across the north and middle forks of the American River has been lifted.

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Fire, Fish, safety, Water, Wildlife

King Fire: Alleged Arsonist Arrested In El Dorado County

A 37-year-old man was arrested and accused of igniting the massive King Fire, which has burned 71,000 acres of Sierra foothills east of Placerville while sending up a huge column of smoke visible from the Bay Area, officials said Thursday.

El Dorado County authorities took Wayne Allen Huntsman into custody Wednesday on suspicion of felony arson and jailed him in lieu of $10 million bail.

The King Fire, which began Saturday and now ranks as one of the largest wildfires burning in California, has forced thousands from their homes and closed a stretch of Highway 50, the popular route between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe.

Strong mountain winds were pushing the inferno north Thursday through the El Dorado National Forest. But no structures have been damaged because of the fire’s trajectory through sparsely populated hills, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

More than 2,000 homes remain threatened, however.

More at SFGate.com >>>

Fire, Water, Wildlife

King Fire Doubles Overnight

Highway 50 in El Dorado County was closed again early Thursday because of backfires being set in hopes of slowing the King Fire, which more than doubled overnight to 70,994 acres and was only 5 percent contained, authorities said.

The highway was shut down at midnight between Ice House and Sly Park, just hours after it had been reopened, as crews set fires to slow the blaze’s growth. Officials were to decide Thursday morning whether to reopen the heavily traveled trans-Sierra road.

The fire that began Saturday is threatening 2,000 homes in Pollock Pines east of Placerville. About 3,700 firefighters are battling the flames on the ground and by air.

The fire, the cause of which is under investigation, is one of the largest and most closely watched of 11 out-of-control blazes burning in California.

The state’s largest blaze this year is a collection of fires in the Klamath National Forest near the Oregon border called the Happy Camp Fire. On Wednesday, firefighters continued to gain on the 126,000-acre blaze and had it 68 percent contained.

More at SFGate.com >>>

Fire, safety, Water, Wildlife

King Fire Causes Closing Of Hwy 50 In Both Directions From Sly Park To Fresh Pond

Placer County is experiencing poor air quality this morning as a result of the King Fire, which as of Tuesday evening closed Hwy 50 in both directions from Sly Park to Fresh Pond.  The fire is now at 18,544 acres and 5% contained.  1,632 single residences are threatened in the blaze at this time.

The King Fire, located in the canyon of the South Fork of the American River, northeast of the community of Pollock Pines, is currently traveling to the east/northeast, and northwest with a rapid rate of spread. Cal Fire is reporting the fire is burning in steep terrain located in the South Fork American River Canyon and Silver Creek Canyon. Rollouts and spotting continue to be a problem in these areas. Both ground and air resources continue to be challenged by this steep terrain.

For the latest evacuation information, visit the King Fire Information page and see below: https://www.facebook.com/KINGFIREPIO

Mandatory Evacuation Orders as of 9/16/14 @ 1950 hrs Bullion Bend Road, Bend Court, Bramble Road, Castlewood Circle, Centerview Court, Centerview Drive, Crystal Summit Road, Darby Lane, Dirt Road Lane, Frontier Road, Hazel Valley Road, Midway Avenue, Mill Run, Old Carson Road, Park Creek Road, Pony Express Trail (east of Sly Park Road), Rampart Court, Ridgecrest Way, Ridgeway Drive, Tall Grass, Stacy Lane, Sunset Drive, Timberwood Way, Twin Mountain Road

Mandatory Evacuation Orders have been issued for the following areas:

Crystal Basin – Hwy 50 east of Fresh Pond to Icehouse, North on Icehouse to Wentworth Springs, west to just above Quintette, to include campgrounds and businesses.

Union Valley Reservoir area, Yellow Jacket Campground, Wolf Creek Campground, Stumpy Meadows Campground, Fashoda Campground, Big Hill Lookout Road, Big Hill Road, Blodgett Forest Road, Bridle Path Way, Forest Road, Frontier Road,Helix Flat Ave, Icehouse Road (west side), Jones Fork Power House Road, Middle Loop Road, Mosquito Road, Onion Valley Road, Outer Limits Lane, Little Silver Road, Loop road, Peavine Point Road, Peavine ridge road, Plum Creek Road, Piolet Creek Road, Robbs Peak Road, Sand Mountain Road, SMUDEA, Spring Road, Sunset Drive, Tricometric Trail, Wentworth Springs (south side, east of Pilot Creek Road), 11 Pines Road.

Mandatory evacuation advisory for the entire community of Swansboro, north of the South Fork of the American River between Brushy Creek and Rock Creek. For a full list of the individual roads go to the Sheriff’s blog at http://pio.edso.org

Evacuation Orders are still in place for the following: Eastside of Forebay road from King of the Mountain Road to Pony Express Trail. All roads north of Pony Express Trail from Forebay road east through Bullion Bend. White Meadows road and Spring Valley Road are also under mandatory evacuation

Shelter Location: Seventh Day Adventist Church at 3520 Carson Road, Camino, CA 95709.

Bike Trail, Fire, safety, Water, Wildlife

Fires Plague American River Parkway This Summer

There are sections of the American River Parkway that look like another planet.

Stephen Green was standing in front of one of those places on Friday. The ground was gray and powdery. Charred logs lay splintered on the ground. What was left of a small tree stood by itself among the emptiness.

Was this the fire that burned 30 acres in early August? Or was it the big one on the Fourth of July that nearly messed up a fireworks show atCal Expo and delayed a Sacramento Republic FC soccer match? It could have been the blaze that shut down the Cap City Freeway during the commute one evening in July.

One more question: Who can we blame for this?

“People have to respect this resource,” Green said. “And I don’t think a lot of them do.”

Green has lived in a home that backs up to the parkway for 34 years. He’s president of the Save the American River Association and is heavily invested in what happens here.

So is everyone in this city. By some estimates, the parkway gets 8 million visitors a year. You won’t find a natural resource this big running through the middle of many American cities.

There are fires on the parkway every summer. It’s just that there have been a lot more this year, more than anyone can remember. City firefighters have battled a half-dozen or so blazes already this year that they would consider major. The one on the Fourth of July destroyed 160 acres.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Fire, Fish, safety, Water, Wildlife

King Fire At 3,900 Acres, 10 Percent Contained

A 3,900-acre fire burning in the Pollock Pines area of El Dorado County caused many evacuations Sunday afternoon.

As of 7:30 a.m. the King Fire is 10 percent contained and is currently located in the canyon of the south fork of the American river, northeast of the community of Pollock Pines according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department website.

The fire, which started Saturday afternoon, caused 160 mandatory evacuations and 406 voluntary evacuations according to Cal Fire spokeswoman Lynne Tolmachoff.

There are 806 personnel battling the fire and 500 homes threatened according to Cal Fire PIO’s tweet.

Pollock Pines School District is closed Monday according to Pollock Pine’s School District Secretary Carmen Hodson.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services has arranged for the Red Cross to provide space for sleep and meals for evacuees of the Kings Fire at Sierra Ridge Middle School located on 2700 Amber Trail.

More at News10.net >>>

Bike Trail, Fire, safety, Water, Wildlife

Bike Trail Riders Should Avoid Scene Of Grass Fire Along American River

Bicycle commuters were being asked to avoid the bike trail near Del Paso Boulevard Friday morning as Sacramento Fire Department crews mopped up a grass fire in the area.

The 2-alarm blaze broke out about 4:30 a.m. Friday near Del Paso Boulevard and the bike trail in brush, grass and trees. The dry conditions, heavy vegetation and a moderate morning breeze spread the fire into the canopy of the trees for a time.

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Bike Trail, Fire, Rafting, safety, Wildlife

Sacramento County Limits Smoking And Barbecue Grills At Parks

Sacramento County supervisors imposed emergency restrictions Tuesday on smoking along the American River Parkway and barbecuing in all county parks, citing increased fire risks from the ongoing drought.

Smoking will no longer be permitted in nature areas and unpaved trails along the 23-mile American River Parkway. At all county parks, including the parkway, barbecue cookers will be limited to designated picnic areas or beaches, depending on the type of fuel used.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the two ordinances after county parks have experienced 30 fires so far this year, including a 160-acre blaze along the parkway that delayed a Fourth of July celebration at Cal Expo and forced postponement of a Sacramento Republic FC soccer game. Fire officials believe most of the fires are due to human activity.

“The parks facilities continue to become drier and increase our fire risk,” said Sacramento County regional parks director Jeff Leatherman. “This would prevent people from walking to an open space and setting up a barbecue.”

The new rules take effect immediately and come just before the Labor Day holiday, when many Sacramentans are expected to hit county parks for barbecues and parties.

“To me, this is a matter of common sense,” said Supervisor Phil Serna, whose district includes a large swath of the parkway.

Violators can expect to pay a fine of $50 and court fees for the first infraction. Repeated offenses can cost up to $100. Leatherman said rangers will seek to educate before issuing citations.

The drought conditions, along with the dry brush, are creating an environment where fires can grow out of control very quickly. The American River Parkway has borne the brunt of the flames – accounting for 29 of the 30 fires in the county parks system so far. In 2013, the parkway was the site of 64 fires.

Four of the blazes this year were classified as “major” by the Sacramento Fire Department, consuming a total of 235 acres, according to Roberto Padilla, a department spokesman.

Fire officials have been unable to pinpoint the precise cause for most of the blazes, but Padilla said, “these fires are human caused … what we cannot determine is if they are accidental or arson.”

American River Parkway visitors can still smoke on paved trails, levee tops, golf courses and picnic areas.

More at SacBee.com >>>