Pollock Pines in El Dorado County. More than 16,000 people have been evacuated, the town of Grizzly Flats has been devastated and at least two people have been injured.
Here's the latest information on the fire, evacuations, damages and closures. Information is changing quickly, so please check with local first responders for the most up-to-date information.
- Size and containment
- Evacuations and emergency alerts
- Where to get information
- Damages and injuries
- Closures
Size and containment
53,772 acres and 0% contained as of 7 a.m. Aug. 18
"We know this fire has done things that nobody could have predicted. But that's how firefighting has been in the state this year," said Eldorado National Forest supervisor Jeff Marsolais Tuesday evening. "I've spent the past four weeks in the North State and every time a fire broke out it outpaced our models two to one. We're seeing the same again here."
A red flag warning remains in effect in the area until 8 p.m. Wednesday. On Tuesday PG&E expanded the scope of a planned power outage through much of Northern California that could affect as many as 51,000 customers.
Find a map of wildfires in California here.
Evacuations and emergency alerts
According to the California Office of Emergency Services, more than 16,000 people are evacuated in El Dorado County.
Here's how to sign up for emergency alerts:
Here’s where you can find the latest information on evacuations:
- El Dorado County Evacuation Map
- Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Twitter
- Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Facebook
- Eldorado National Forest Facebook
- Amador County Sheriff's Office Facebook
Evacuation orders are in effect for the following areas:
- Grizzly Flat: The areas on Grizzly Flats Road east of Kendra Way into Grizzly Flats Proper. The areas of Diamond Railroad Grade, Old SChool House, Sweeney Road, Caldor Road and Steely Ridge
- Grizzly Flats Road east of four corners in Somerset into Grizzly Flats Proper. The areas of Myers Lane, Varmet Ridge Road, Roadwell Canyon Road, Snowbird Lane, and Mehwald Lane.
- East of Sly Park road between Highway 50 and Mormon Emigrant Trail to Ice House Road. This includes the communities of Pacific House and Fresh Pond.
- North of Highway 50, east of Forebay Road to Ice House Road
- Intersection of Perry Creek and Hawk Haven, the East side of Fairplay Road from Perry Creek South to Cedarville Road. This includes Slug Gulch, Omo Ranch, and all roads off of Slug Gulch and Omo Ranch.
- All roads off of Omo Ranch from Cedarville Road to Hwy 88
- All areas between Mormon Emigrant Trail and Hwy 88
- South of Highway 50 from Snows Road to Ice House Road
- Between Highway 50 and Slab Creek from SNows Road to Ice House Road
Evacuation warnings are in effect for the following areas:
- North of Slab Creek to Wentworth Springs Road between Sand Mountain and Loon Lake.
- Mosquito Road from the bridge North to include the Community of Swansboro.
- North of Highway 50 to Slab Creek between Smith Flat and Snows Road.
- South of Highway 50 to Pleasant Valley between Smith Flat and Snows Road, and North of Pleasant Valley between Holm and Newtown.
- South of Pleasant Valley between Bucks Bar Road and Newtown Road, East of Bucks Bar Road to Mt Aukum Road.
- Southwest of Bucks Bar Road to Ladies Valley Road including the community of Outingdale, Ant Hill Road, Perry Creek Road and Sand Ridge between Ladies Valley Road and Bucks Bar Road.
- East of Mt Aukum Road (E16) from Bucks Bar Road to Omo Ranch Road. North of Omo Ranch Road to the intersection of Omo Ranch Road and Fairplay Road.
- South of Omo Ranch to the El Dorado County Line between Mt Aukum Road (E16) and Fairplay Road to include Coyoteville Road, Cedar Creek and all tributary roads.
EvacuationCenters:
- Cameron Park CSD - FULL: 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park, CA 95682
- Green Valley Community Church: 3500 Missouri Flat, Placerville, CA 95667
- The Fireman’s Hall - FULL: 3734 China Garden Road, Diamond Springs, CA 95619
Animal Evacuation Centers:
- SMALL ANIMAL SHELTER: El Dorado County Animal Services: Call (530)-621-5795
- LARGE ANIMAL SHELTER: Amador County Fairgrounds, 18621 Sherwood Street, Plymouth, CA 95669 (Empire Street Gate)
You should prepare to evacuate as soon as you get an evacuation warning, and leave as soon as you get an evacuation order. Here are some tips to prepare before evacuating.
Officials also recommend not waiting for an evacuation order or warning and leaving as soon as you no longer feel comfortable in your home.
Sky Stone, a resident of Somerset southeast of Pollock Pines, said he woke up at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday to find his power out and multiple messages on his phone telling him to evacuate. Soon, El Dorado County Sheriff's vehicles were passing his home with sirens blaring.
"Everybody was just really shocked that it had changed direction in the middle of the night and headed back down the mountain because prior to that, it was on the other side of the hill, on the side of the road where it started and was burning up the hill," Stone said. "So nobody had any expectation that it would come back towards our neighborhood or wipe out Grizzly Flats up above. That's really shocking."
Where to get information
The official sources of information are the U.S. Forest Services' Inciweb incident page and the Cal Fire incident page.
You can also follow these social media accounts:
- Eldorado National Forest Twitter
- Eldorado National Forest Facebook
- El Dorado County Sheriff's Office Facebook
- Amador County Sheriff's Office Facebook
- Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Twitter
- Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit Facebook
Damages and injuries
There has not been an official damage assessment as of Wednesday morning, though CapRadio and other reporters on the scene confirmed that the Grizzly Flats area has been devastated by the fire, as well as damage in the Somerset and Omo Ranch areas. Tuesday afternoon, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in El Dorado County.
According to Cal Fire, two people were injured near Grizzly Flats in separate incidents and transported by air ambulance to local hospitals. One person had serious injuries.
Closures
Traffic was congested on and around Highway 50 heading to Sacramento Tuesday. The California Highway Patrol is warning that US-50 from Meyers to Ice House Road may close at some point. As of Wednesday morning, the U.S. 50 off-ramps at Ridgeway Road remain closed.
Check Caltrans' QuickMap for the most updated information on road closures.
The Eldorado National Forest announced a forest-wide closure starting Wednesday morning.
The El Dorado County Office of Education is updating a list of school closures here. These schools are closed as of Wednesday morning:
- Camino Union School District - all sites
- Gold Oak Union School District - all sites
- Indian Diggings School District - all sites
- Pioneer Union School District - all sites
- Pollock Pines Elementary School District - all sites
- Silver Fork School District - all sites
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