evacuations

El Dorado County residents can sign up for CodeRED, an emergency notification service so they can be warned in the event of an emergency. This El Dorado County Sheriff's Office - Office of Emergency Services Alert Notification System provides a number of ways in which the county may contact the community in the event of an emergency or urgent law enforcement operations such as evacuations due to wildfires, hazardous material spills, or urgent law enforcement operations.

9:30 AM update 10/11: Perimeter is lined and held through the night. Firefighters are mopping up the interior today. The fire is 50 percent contained and has burned about 30 acres. The cause is under investigation

***
There was a new fire start on Tuesday across the river from Bridal Veil Falls in El Dorado County.

Dubbed the "Ice Fire" it is burning about two miles west of the Ice House Road/White Meadows Road intersection.

Multiple air tankers and helicopters worked the fire immediately. There were some voluntary evacuations in place but they have since been lifted.

Location

UPDATE 8/31 10:00AM - The Slinkard Fire has grown to 5,000 acres with 0 percent containment this morning. The fire has burned to Hwy 395 and crossed Hwy 89 to the north.

Last night, fire crews focused on the eastern flank of the fire along Hwy 395 and engine crews were dedicated to structure protection in northern Topaz. There are no injuries and no structures lost at this time. Power is out in the immediate area.

UPDATE 6:29PM: Carson City Fire Chief Sean Slamon said conditions are looking better this evening, with the fire around 70 to 75 percent contained. There is not acreage estimate yet but it is likely around 100 acres and probably less than 200 acres, he said.

“Around 100 firefighters are on scene battling the blaze as well as two airplanes and two helicopters. We have released some resources now so they can go to other fires in the region.”

Evacuations remain in place for now in Voltaire Canyon and Carson Colony areas. The cause of the fire is believed to be a lightning strike.

***

8/14/17 update noon: The South Fork Fire at the southern end of Yosemite has now burned 900 acres. The wildfire, which was spotted at 2:00 a.m. Sunday is burning in steep terrain and air resources are being used on the fire. No evacuations are in place at this time.

* * *
The "South Fork Fire" which started early Sunday morning has now burned 400 acres. It is burning in the South Fork of the Merced River, one mile upstream from Swinging Bridge.

Douglas County Board of Commissioners signed a Disaster Declaration today due to the lightning caused Preacher Fire which is burning seven miles southeast of Gardnerville.

The fire is currently estimated at 4,651 acres as of 6:00 p.m. on July 25. It is being managed at this time by Sierra Front Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT) with support from East Fork Fire Protection District and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

9:00 p.m. update: The Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) has initiated evacuations for areas east of Pine Nut Road to include Fred's Street, Sandoval, Taildragger, Bluebird, and Bar-J Roads as well as in the Sierra Spirit Ranch area including, Blue Sage Road, Badger Lane, Robinson Road and Lena Lane. In addition, Washoe Tribal Police are evacuating the Bodie Flats area in the vicinity of Courtland Avenue.

The lightning-sparked Preacher Fire burning in the Pine Nut Mountains southeast of Gardnerville has swelled to 3,130 acres according to DCSO with winds moving north.

8:45 p.m. update: A juvenile has been arrested by CalFire law enforcement officers for starting Thursday's fire in Auburn.

The boy told officers that he was smoking marijuana when the nearby brush caught fire. He then called and reported the fire. He was taken into custody by CalFire at the scene and booked at the Placer County Juvenile Hall on arson-related charges.

Several fires in California and Nevada are burning on Sunday with thousands of firefighting personnel fighting the blazes. The list below is of current fires in both states, updated with information available at 11:00 a.m. on July 9.

California Fires

Alamo Fire - 23,867 acres, 10 percent contained, San Luis Obispo County

Schaeffer Fire - 14,342 acres, 11 percent contained, 798 personnel, 17 miles north of Kernville, CA

Whittier Fire - 7,800 acres, 5 percent contained, 400 personnel with more on the way, Lake Cachuma, Santa Barbara County

As the first responders and Meyers community are honored for their resiliency and efforts during the June 24, 2007 Angora Fire, another side of the story was behind the newspaper pages and camera lenses.

Ten years ago was a different time for news, and local online news sources such as South Tahoe Now did not exist, nor was there social media forum one could rely on for local news and updates.

5/29/17 10:45 p.m. update: All of the evacuated residents are now back home after Southwest Gas crews were able to stop the leak and repair the broken main line. At this time those crews are going into each apartment and relighting pilot lights.

According to SLTFR Battalion Chief Jim Drennan the cause of the broken line is unknown. The main is located alongside the apartment's parking lot but the break occurred underground.

* * *

11:45 a.m. update: A large boulder has rolled onto Highway 50 near Bridal Veil Falls in the eastbound lane. Be prepared for diverted traffic.

* * *
There are several flooded areas in the South Lake Tahoe and Meyers areas, resulting in some road closures.

As of 9:00 a.m. Thursday, the following roads are experiencing flooding:

Tahoe Keys - State Streets and Tahoe Keys Blvd
Bijou Area - Bill Avenue, Shirley Avenue, Betty Rae Ct, Vanda Lee, Woodbine Avenue
Portions of Glenwood Way
Portions of Pioneer Trail
Portions of lake Tahoe Blvd between the Y and High School

It doesn’t take a wildland fire professional to see how fuel reduction can protect forests and communities.

It just takes a field trip to the site of the Emerald fire near the southwestern shores of Lake Tahoe.

Despite burning at the same time and under similar conditions to the disastrous Little Valley fire, the Emerald fire was much less destructive.

UPDATE 1:00PM 10/15/16: The Little Valley Fire in Washoe Valley has now burned 3,460 acres with 5 percent containment. Four injuries due to smoke inhalation have been reported.

The Sierra Front Type III Incident Management Team reports that 22 residences and 17-outbuildings have been destroyed. 500 structures are still under threat.

Interstate 580 is open in both directions, as is old U.S. Highway 395. Franktown Road, the area where most of the home damage is, remains closed.

Thank you Jeff Munson and CarsonNow.org for the continuous coverage and updates of the fire.

A woman driving on a country road on the rims of her car is suspected of starting multiple fires which make up the Willow Fire, a 450-acre fire currently burning in Calaveras County.

An investigation by peace officers with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Tuolumne – Calaveras Unit determined that Renee Hogan drove on a flat tire along Mountain Ranch Road, east of the town of San Andreas, when sparks created from the dragging metal rim started several fires in the surrounding vegetation.

UPDATE 11AM 8/15: The Shooting Fire is now 80 percent contained and remains non-threatening to structures with a total of 252 acres burned, SFIDC spokeswoman Shannon Brophy said.

***

UPDATE 8PM: The Shooting Fire is 40 percent contained with eyes on all fire lines from multiple fire agencies, said Carson City Fire Department spokeswoman Stacey Belt. Mapping has the fire size to be between 200 to 300 acres, she said. Several fire crews will remain on scene to close the containment gap.
***

The cause of all the smoke in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Virginia Mountains Complex Fire, has now consumed 36,091 acres of trees and sagebrush north of Reno.

Five separate wildland fires make up the group, including the Anderson (8,511 acres), Sage (4,238 acres), Seven Lakes (3,063 acres), and Tule (20,279 acres) Fires. All five fires were caused by lightning on July 28 and are burning within about 20 miles of each other in an arc about 35 miles north of Reno.

Firefighters were able to gain ground on the fires, now having 35 percent of the fire contained.

Firefighting officials expect the Trailhead Fire burning west of Lake Tahoe to be fully contained by Saturday, July 9. So far, the fire has burned 5,595 since it started on June 28. It is now 60 percent contained.

All mandatory evacuations have been lifted over the fire evacuation area.

Some firefighting personnel are being pulled off the fire, and more are expected to leave in the next couple of days, leaving some to continue mop up.

3:00 p.m. update 6/29: Rain showers in the mountains above Bakersfield have helped fire fighters gain control of the Erskine Fire which has now consumed 46,684 acres near Lake Isabella.

The 1,743 firefighters at the scene have a containment line around 60 percent of the fire.

There are currently no evacuations in place and a re-entry plan has been established. 257 homes were destroyed with another 17 damaged.

Though long awaited precipitation decided to fall in South Lake Tahoe Thursday, the Neighborhood Evacuation Drill still went ahead as planned.

"The drill went very well," said SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston. "Overall a success with lessons learned.

He said there was great interagency cooperation with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Search and Rescue, El Dorado County STAR and South Lake Tahoe Action teams, Public Works department, and the Red Cross all joining the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department in the drill.

6:47 p.m. - Cal Fire says containment on the Butte Fire has grown to 47 percent, with acreage burned holding at 71,780 acres.

Damage assessment shows 233 residences, 175 outbuildings and 15 other structures burned in the fire, with 6,000 additional structures still threatened.

Officials ask that area residents remain vigilant, as the fire is still active in many areas. They also ask for people to assist by calling the appropriate authorities for specific situations:

If you see trees on a highway, please call Cal-Trans at 209-948-7543.

A twisted chunk of metal, a file of yellowing newspapers and a million memories from 35 years ago are constant reminders of the Harvey’s Casino Resort bombing for retired FBI agent Bill Jonkey.

“It’s something you never forget,” said Jonkey, the FBI’s lead investigator on the $3 million extortion case, who lives in retirement in Carson Valley.

There were over 5,000 lightning strikes in the Sierra and Western Nevada on Saturday, many of those causing small fires. Those areas are being monitored. Mendocino County has seven lightning caused fires currently burning and Humboldt county has over 70 fires also caused by lightning.