LATEST July 5, 2:15 pm Fire activity on the Electra Fire in California’s Amador County intensified Tuesday afternoon. A fire was burning in the area of Electra Road along the border of Amador and Calaveras counties, the Amador County Sheriff’s Office said.
Wildfire cameras showed three massive plumes of smoke rising over the mountains.
3 chapters now? It seems a bit unstable. #ElectraFire pic.twitter.com/bbZqf2lVkV
— CaliforniaNewsWatch (@Me55713454) July 5, 2022
Cal Fire has issued a new mandatory evacuation order for all residents in the area of Butte Mountain Road. Cal Fire also issued an evacuation warning for all residents within a 2-mile radius around Lake Tabo.
You can get the latest evacuation information from the Amador County Sheriff’s Office. You can also check the evacuation map.
The Amador County Animal Response Team was activated Tuesday afternoon. Residents can bring large animals to the Amador County Fairgrounds.
Road closures are in effect at the following intersections, the sheriff’s office said: – Tabeau Road south at Highway 88 – Mount Zion Road south at Highway 88 – Clinton Road at Butte Mountain Road – Clinton Road at Amador Lane – Clinton Road at West Clinton Road – Electra Road at Highway 49
July 5, noon The fast-growing Electra Fire in Amador and Calaveras counties continues to threaten “critical energy infrastructure,” Cal Fire said Tuesday. The wildfire started July 4 near Vox Beach along the Mokelumne River and had burned 3,034 acres as of Tuesday morning. There is no cap and 450 structures are at risk.
The wildfire is burning near a PG&E station on Electra Road. The facility was temporarily sheltering holidaymakers who were vacationing at Vox Beach when the fire broke out. About 100 people waited at the rescue station as first responders cleared fallen trees and power lines to reach them. They were all safely evacuated by 9:30 p.m. Monday, Cal Fire said.
“There is an ongoing threat to critical energy infrastructure,” Cal Fire said in its morning incident report. “Steep rough terrain makes access difficult for fire crews in the South Fork of the Mokelum River drainage, but firefighters continue to build containment lines.”
PG&E’s outage map shows thousands of customers throughout Amador and neighboring Calaveras County without power. Another piece of infrastructure is near the fire: the Mokelumne River watershed supplies water to the East Bay Municipal Utility District and provides drinking water to 1.4 million Bay Area customers.
Firefighter Rafael Soto battles the Electra Fire in the Rich Gulch community in Calaveras County, California, on Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
Noah Berger/AP
The Electra Fire broke out in a matter of hours. Just before 5 p.m. Monday, Cal Fire estimated the wildfire at “approximately 75 acres burning at a dangerous rate of spread in dry grass on the North Fork of the Mokelumne.” As of 7:30 p.m., it was already at 959 acres without restriction. The cause of the fire is unknown, but Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman said the fire likely started on Vox Beach, possibly due to a barbecue or fireworks.
Mandatory evacuations are in place east of the Mokelumne Hill area for now, but conditions can change quickly. Check the evacuation map for the latest information or call or text Amador’s Evacuation Teams at 1-209-419-2000. A map of the Electra Fire can be seen here:
Evacuees can go to the Italian Picnic Grounds at 581 Highway 49 in Sutter Creek or the San Andreas Town Hall at 24 Church Hill Road in San Andreas. If you have small or large animals, go to the Amador County Fairgrounds.
There are a number of road closures, according to Caltrans:
-Electra Road at Highway 49-Clinton Road at Butte Mountain Cutoff-Butte Mountain Road at Butte Mountain Cutoff-Highway 26 at Buckeye Lane to Ridge Road
You can watch the fire on AlertWildfire’s live streaming cameras.
A firefighter sprays water on the burning Electra Fire in the Rich Gulch community in Calaveras County, California, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Noah Berger/AP
The Electra Fire burns in Amador County on July 4, 2022.
AlertWildfire/Giveaway
Add Comment