Fire levels Northern California lumber mill that employed over 150, authorities say
A large fire destroyed a lumber mill Monday afternoon in Amador County, briefly spreading to nearby vegetation before fire personnel contained the incident.
Crews around noon were dispatched to a structure fire at 11610 Ampine-Fibreform Road, just northwest of Martell and Jackson.
The blaze fully engulfed the 135,000-square foot main building of Ampine, a timber products company, the Amador Fire Protection District said in an updated news release Monday evening.
A fire that ignited in nearby vegetation was kept small and quickly contained, the fire district said. Cal Fire made multiple retardant drops over the facility.
All Ampine employees were evacuated and are accounted for, the fire district and Amador County Sheriff’s Office said in social media posts. About 40 to 45 employees were working at the time of the incident, which the fire district said was a non-production day at the site.
“It appears Ampine is a total loss,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post just before 5 p.m. “The Sheriff and all staff offer our heartfelt condolences to all of the 150 plus Ampine employees.”
A shopping center in Martell along Industry Boulevard, which includes a Safeway grocery store and Lowe’s hardware store, was evacuated as a precaution, as well as the nearby Amador Ridge area, fire district and sheriff’s officials said Monday evening.
The Amador Ridge and shopping center evacuations have been lifted, but traffic restrictions remained in place late Monday west of the roundabout on Industry Boulevard.
Cal Fire as well as numerous local fire departments in nearby jurisdictions assisted in battling the structure fire.
The fire produced a towering plume of dark smoke early Monday afternoon, and the destroyed building continued to smolder as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, cameras with the AlertWildfire Network showed.
No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is not known.
This story was originally published July 25, 2022 at 2:42 PM.
