The Electra fire that broke out on the Fourth of July along the Amador-Calaveras county line tripled overnight as firefighters battled to dampen the flames amid the steep and rugged terrain.
Families celebrating the Fourth of July at the North Fork of the Mozelumne River had to evacuate to safety early Monday evening at a PG & E plant in Amador County as the fast-spreading Electra fire spreads from 0 percent of containment in the Sierra foothills near Jackson to 1,000 acres.
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In Amador County, from South Clinton Road to Amador Lane, and in Calaveras County, from Montgomery Drive to Lower Dorray Road, north of Highway 26, evacuation orders have been issued for all routes south of Butte Mountain Road. The Plymouth, California, Amador County Fairgrounds, 18621 Sherwood St., now houses a big and small animal refuge.
Earlier, a man at the station, identified by CBS13 as John Patrick, had said families had been informed the fire was about to make its way through the Butte Mountain Road area before firefighters would be available for evacuation.
“There are families here with dogs, kids,” Patrick said, adding that the families were feeling sheltered inside the facility when the fire burned around them.
In North Fork of the Mokelumne, the fire was estimated by Cal Fire authorities to be about 75 acres blazing at a dangerous pace of spread in dry grass just before 5 o’clock. The fire’s origin is unknown, but according to Cal Fire, a complete ground and air fire response was sent to the river at around 3:44 p.m. for a vegetation fire burning to the south. Firefighters were having difficulty accessing the area due to the steep and difficult terrain, but they were dumping fire retardant from the air to stop the spread of the fire.
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A huge plume of smoke was visible as far away as Sacramento, and PG & E said that electricity had been cut off to about 13,000 customers in Amador County. As of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Cal Fire reported that the fire had scorched almost 3,100 acres and was 0% controlled.
