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Crews halt Rontree Fire: Blaze near Somerset prompting evacuations in El Dorado County

The Rontree Fire is seen burning near Somerset in El Dorado County on Sunday, July 23, 2023, in an image taken from a PG&E wildfire camera. The fire was reported between 5 and 10 acres along Fairplay Road just before 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The Rontree Fire is seen burning near Somerset in El Dorado County on Sunday, July 23, 2023, in an image taken from a PG&E wildfire camera. The fire was reported between 5 and 10 acres along Fairplay Road just before 3 p.m. on Sunday. AlertCalifornia/UC San Diego

Forward progress was quickly stopped on a vegetation fire that sparked Sunday afternoon in rural central El Dorado County and threatened multiple buildings.

The Rontree Fire burned 13.75 acres and was 50% contained, Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado unit said in a 6 p.m. update. Firefighters said forward progress had been stopped and evacuations lifted along Leap Frog Lane.

Andrew Scira, a cashier at a nearby convenience store, said planes, helicopters and over a dozen fire trucks had converged on the scene. Fire crews had evacuated several homes on Leap Frog Lane.

The blaze was about two miles south of Somerset not far from Pioneer Park, an area of ranches and wineries 40 miles east of Sacramento. Smoke was spotted on wildfire cameras at 2 p.m. about two miles west of the Caldor Fire burn scars.

This story was originally published July 23, 2023 at 3:04 PM.

Stephen Hobbs
The Sacramento Bee
Stephen Hobbs is an enterprise reporter for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau. He has worked for newspapers in Colorado, Florida and South Carolina.
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