Grant Fire destroys outbuilding, burns 5,000 acres of grass near Sloughhouse
A wind-stoked grass fire quickly charred more than 5,000 acres Friday, prompting evacuations and road closures in a sparsely populated area of east Sacramento County between Rancho Cordova and Folsom.
By 4:30 p.m., however, the Grant Fire spread was slowed a little by light rain and improving conditions, after raging northward through several miles of dry brush. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Saturday morning the fire, which had destroyed one outbuilding, was 65 percent contained. No injuries were reported.
“Crews are continuing to mop up hot spots and staying vigilant in the event of winds returning today,” Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado unit reported Saturday morning.
“It’s really just mostly grass out here,” spokeswoman Diana Swart said Friday as a band of sprinkles moved over the incident command center — not enough to tamp down flames, but helpful as firefighters gained an upper hand, she said.
Just before 5:30 p.m., incident commanders reported forward progress had been stopped. The fire’s leading edge was several miles south of Highway 50, toward Scott Road, according to firefighters, far from populated areas including Folsom and Rancho Murieta.
By 7:15 p.m., the fire had burned 5,042 acres. But evacuation orders had been lifted, and all roads had been reopened, according to Cal Fire. The Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area, which had been evacuated earlier, remained closed.
Donald Gaymon, who lives near East Bidwell Street and White Rock Road in Folsom, said the fire was pretty far south of his home, but the frequent shifts in wind direction made it hard to determine exactly where the fire was going.
“It’ll come directly at us, and then it will shift and go to the east,” Gaymon said.
At the height of the fire, wind gusts moved flames northeast “at a rapid rate of spread, prompting multiple road closures south of Highway 50. The blaze, which started near Grant Line Road and Kiefer Boulevard near Sloughhouse around 11:45 a.m., was initially being reported at 150 acres with a rapid rate of spread, as Metro Fire crews responded. Homes were evacuated near Glory Lane before the blaze roared to more than 700 acres.
Officials rapidly took to social media, with an urgent instruction that “residents and motorists should shelter in defensible spaces.” By 3 p.m., as the fire leaped Scott Road had charred more than 2,000 acres.
Firefighters protect Sloughhouse cattle ranch
The winds pushed flames dangerously close to the 12 buildings on Brigt Skjerpe’s Barton Ranch on Scott Road in Sloughhouse. But he said he was grateful for a team of firefighters who raced in and set fires around his fence line to burn out the grass before the wind pushed flames onto the buildings.
“That’s what saved the structures,” he said, after bringing out from his house a pack of sport drinks to a group of inmate firefighters.
They had arrived to watch for spot fires. Skjerpe said he was also lucky to have gathered up his 60 cattle before the fire passed through where they were grazing.
Residents watch on Raymer Way
As the fire raged through rolling grass and dry creekbeds, Matt Amend and Vince Haycox stood in the back of a pickup drinking beers on Raymer Way near their Somerset Ranch subdivision east of Rancho Cordova. By that point, the fire had started its march northeast.
They watched as a steady steam of air tankers and helicopters dumped water or retardant on the wispy gray and brown plume to the east. Several other people lined the road watching.
“It was a lot better half an hour ago,” Haycox said shortly after 3 p.m. Friday. “But the wind pushed it further away.”
Readings from the National Weather Service showed winds from the southwest as high as 25 mph at 1 p.m. In addition to driving the flames, the winds were pushing smoke into Folsom and parts of El Dorado and Placer counties.
Carrol Lopez, who also lives on Raymer Way, said she wasn’t given any advisories on evacuation but added that she’s “thought about what I might pack up, as far as medicines and dog food. You just never know.”
As fire season ramps up, emergency officials across California renewed the call for those living in fire-prone areas to have a “go” bag at the ready and sign up for emergency alerts.
“We see a lot of smoke from the south, blowing north,” Lopez said. “It’s pretty intense there, lots of white and brown smoke.”
Smoke drifts into El Dorado, Placer counties
“I see it from my window,” said Vanessa Ortiz, who lives on Glass Beach Drive in Rancho Cordova, near Douglas and Grant Line roads. “I can see from my window and it’s a significant amount of smoke... It’s literally down the street.”
However, around 1 p.m. she hadn’t been told to evacuate as the fire moved away from her subdivision. Nevertheless, her son was trying to drive south toward Elk Grove and had to turn around because of road closures.
In addition to Cal Fire, firefighters from Metro Fire and the Eldorado National Forest were in unified command, along with several hand crews from El Dorado County and aircraft from around the capital region and Sierra foothills. About 500 firefighters were assigned to the blaze, according to IAFF Local 522.
“It looks pretty big,” said Ryker Walker, who owns the Dragon Gourmet Mushrooms farm on Grant Line Road, just south of the fire. “There was a lot of smoke, and a lot of responders going by my place.”
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 12:29 PM.
