2 CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTERS INJURED AT APPALOOSA WILD FIRE
July 4, 2016
0SHARES
Two firefighters were injured in the Appaloosa Fire, transported to the hospital and released.
Cal Fire did not provide details about how or when the firefighters were injured or to which hospital they were transported.
By Sunday afternoon, Cal Fire crews had reached 15 percent containment but the Appaloosa Fire had grown to 425 acres burning vegetation across multiple properties, according to a press release. The fire is five miles southwest of Angels Camp.
Firefighters are still working to secure the perimeter, the release said.
Pacific Gas & Electric confirmed the 18 customers who were without power along Stallion Way have since been restored. J.D. Guidi, a spokesperson for the company said power was restored at 11:55 a.m.
Earlier Sunday, Guidi said that at the height of the Appaloosa Fire about 15,000 customers were without power, but by mid-morning power was restored to all but the homes closest to where the fire began.
At one time, the outage spanned 20 cities in both Calaveras and San Joaquin counties. Among those were Angels Camp, Copperopolis, Murphys, Arnold, Mountain Ranch and even some areas of Manteca and Stockton.
Cal Fire requested the lines be down while fighting firefighters fought the fire, he said. Power returned intermittently Saturday as PG&E was able to reroute power to other circuits. The company got the OK to re energize the lines at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Power returned to most by 10:30 p.m.
Guidi indicated the 18 who remained without power were near where the fire broke out.
Structures no longer appear to be threatened by the Appaloosa Fire that broke out Saturday afternoon between Angels Camp and Copperopolis. Cal Fire did not know yet whether any had been destroyed.
The agency reported the fire remained at 325 acres burned and 10 percent containment. Cal Fire indicated the acreage amount will probably stay the same.
On Saturday afternoon, J ustin Moler was standing at the lip of his property about two or so miles down Appaloosa Road in Angels Camp and watched as a wildfire invaded the northeastern portion of his 20 acre property.
“It is uncomfortably nearby,” he said, noting the fire started two houses from his, along the road. Ultimately, his property was fine. But it got close.
Moments earlier, an air tanker had dropped retardant over the smoky hillside and droplets of water could be felt from the giant water bucket being hauled by a helicopter.
The Appaloosa Fire, as deemed by Cal Fire, began at 12:49 p.m. and flared up quickly. By 2:30 p.m., the fire had burned 75 acres. The acreage increase to 250 acres by 4:14 p.m. By 6:20 p.m., Cal Fire said the fire had burned 325 acres and was 10 percent contained.
Cal Fire confirmed structures were threatened, but no mandatory evacuation orders were issued as of 6:20 p.m.
The fire began along Appaloosa Road, presumably east of the intersection of Hunter Street. Nancy Longmore, a Cal Fire information officer, confirmed the cause of the fire was from electrical power from a breaker box powering a water supply.
She said the owner was working on the breaker box at the time of the fire. Though the person’s name had yet to be released, he was charged with two misdemeanors: negligently causing the fire and allowing fire to spread to land of another, she said.
The charges will be submitted to the Calaveras County District Attorney’s Office, Longmore said. The charges carry a $1,000 fine and/or one year time in county jail.
When the fire started, on the side of the hill facing Appaloosa Road, it travelled uphill, something Longmore said is not uncommon. She said, the steeper the hill, the faster the fire climbs. She added smoke heats upward as the fire grows, warming the space the fire will advance to next.
“Fire travels uphill,” Longmore said. “Generally the same way water does, only opposite.”
By the late afternoon, the fire was situated in a canyon full of brush between Appaloosa Road and Stallion Way, travelling southeast toward New Melones Reservoir. Longmore said it was too early to determine when it might be fully contained.
The fire knocked out power for the greater Angels Camp area. Officials with Pacific Gas and Electric indicated 4,261 customers were without power as of 5:21 p.m. Power was expected to be restored by 11 p.m.
An official with PG&E on the scene said late Saturday afternoon the outage was not caused by a downed line, but by particulate matter that had disrupted the service signal. The official indicated CalFire personnel requested power poles remain off while they fight the fire.
In total, 240 personnel were on the call as of 6:20 p.m. Cooperating agencies included the Stanislaus National Forest, Altaville Melones, the Calaveras County Sheriff and the Copperopolis Fire Protection District.
Cal Fire confirmed 23 engines, five dozers, eight fire crews, one air attack, three air tankers, two helicopters, four water tenders and eight overhead personnel were called in to fight the fire.