Update: Evacuation orders downgraded, power restored as Airola Fire is 25% contained
Read the latest update here ==> Firefighters report progress overnight on Washington Fire between Jamestown and Sonora
Update, 7:45 p.m.: The Airola Fire is now at 700 acres with 25% containment.
All evacuation orders will be downgraded to warnings as of 8 p.m., the Calaveras County Office of Emergency Services said.
Parrotts Ferry Road from Highway 4 to the South County will also open at 8 p.m. PG&E has restored energy to the Parrotts Ferry area.
“As the public begins to repopulate, please remain vigilant and watch for fire crews and utility resources on roadways,” the office said in a release.
Update, 3:45 p.m.: The fire has grown to 710 acres, still with 10 percent containment.
During the first 24 hours of the fire, the Calaveras County Office of Emergency Services sent notifications to 693 contacts, of which 305 confirmed receiving the message. Approximately 80 residents are in the mandatory evacuation area and more are under evacuation warnings.
Calaveras County Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Stark said deputies have gone door to door to notify people of evacuations.
Darin McKinney, a retired Cal Fire Captain from the Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit, has a twitter account where he posts photos and videos of fires, including the Airola fire.
McKinney said he’s fought fires in that area before and the terrain “is exceptionally steep, it’s very rocky, it’s on a lava bluff.”
He said the fire started near the shore of New Melones Reservoir “and there are absolutely no roads anywhere out there” so Cal Fire in the early stages had to rely solely on aerial units.
“The rate of spread was so rapid that it made it to the top of the ridge above the lake probably within about 20 minutes of it starting,” McKinney said. “There are residents along the ridge top there (and) they had engines in place to protect residents well before the fire got to them.”
While the area of origin wasn’t accessible by road, McKinney said there are popular hiking and mountain biking trails nearby.
Update, 12:10 p.m.: Two sites have opened as evacuation centers for animals, according to Cal Fire’s Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit.
For small animals, Calaveras County Animal Control has established an animal evacuation center at the Calaveras County Animal Services Shelter 891 Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas. Large animals may be taken to Frogtown Fairgrounds 2465 Gun Club Road, Angels Camp.
Original story: Firefighters worked overnight to battle the Airola fire, which broke out near Vallecito in Calaveras County on Wednesday afternoon.
As of Thursday afternoon, the 700-acre fire was 10 percent contained, Cal Fire reported.
“Firefighters observed extreme fire behavior yesterday afternoon as the fire made uphill runs and is terrain driven,” Cal Fire said in a morning update. “Critically dry fuels and steep terrain challenged fire crews overnight.”
The fire began around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. It is located in the Stanislaus River Canyon near the Parrotts Ferry Bridge.
The fire is generally moving in an east and northeasterly direction, said Cal Fire spokesperson Emily Kilgore.
Evacuations are in place for all of Parrotts Ferry Road from the Tuolumne county line to Highway 4, the sheriff’s office said. This includes Moaning Cavern and Camp Nine Road areas and areas east of Red Hill Road to Parrotts Ferry Road.
About 100 people are under mandatory evacuation orders and 200 structures are threatened, Kilgore said.
There are also two power outages affecting 331 customers. The outages are due to de-energization for first responder safety at the request of fire command, according to PG&E.
People in Douglas Flat and Murphys are under evacuation warnings.
Mark Twain Elementary School in Angels Camp is serving as an evacuation center.
Albert Michelson Elementary School in Murphys and the Transitional Adult Education Program in Vallecito are closed, according to the Calaveras County Office of Emergency Services.
Hazel Fischer Elementary in Arnold and Avery Middle School in Avery will remain open.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
To sign up for emergency alerts in Calaveras County visit oes.calaverasgov.us/Notifications.
We will update this story as it develops.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Update: Evacuation orders downgraded, power restored as Airola Fire is 25% contained."
