Cal Fire battles wildfire in El Dorado County amid red flag conditions in California

Cal Fire crews are battling the Salmon Fire, a relatively small wildfire that sparked in El Dorado County south of Pilot Hill on Saturday afternoon.

Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado Unit responded to the brush fire around 12:15 p.m. north of Salmon Falls Bridge, on the South Fork of the American River. Initially, the fire was about 15 to 20 acres wide, but by Sunday grew to 32 acres, according to fire officials.

A Saturday evening update from Cal Fire indicated that the steep terrain in the hilly area made it difficult for crews to fight the fire. One firefighter suffered a minor injury Saturday, but no civilian injuries have been reported. As 20% containment on the fire was achieved, evacuation warnings in the area were dropped.

Cal Fire’s Sunday update said that the fire was 40% contained and officials expected more progress throughout the day.

“The focus today is to strengthen containment lines and mop up hot spots,” Cal Fire officials said in the update. “With the help of firefighters from CAL FIRE-Santa Clara Unit, it is anticipated that crews will make good progress toward full containment today.

As the Salmon Fire continued to burn in El Dorado County, a red flag warning for Northern California went into effect Sunday morning. The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office warned that winds are expected to develop that could lead to heightened fire danger. In Sacramento, wind gusts are expected to reach 25 to 30 miles per hour, and elsewhere across the region maximum wind speeds may hit 40 miles per hour. El Dorado County is not affected by the red flag warning, which includes most of the Sacramento Valley between Redding and Modesto.