California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Amador-El Dorado Unit CONTACT: Teri Mizuhara, Fire Prevention Specialist II, 530.708.2724
Camino - The Sand Fire located on Sandridge Road near Bucks Bar Road in the Somerset area of Placerville began at 11:35 am this morning. It has burned 15 acres of heavy brush and timber, the forward progression of the fire has been stopped and the fire is at 50% containment. 25 homes were threatened for a short period of time. No injuries or damage has been reported. CAL FIRE Public Information Officer Robert Little of the Amador-El Dorado Unit stated "some of the homeowners had done an excellent job creating defensible space around their homes and it clearly made the difference between them returning to their home or a pile of ashes since the fire literally burned right up to their homes." The fire spotted across Mt. Aukum/E-16 Road and the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department (EDSO) managed voluntary evacuations of the Meyers Road and Moody Road area until the spot fires were fully contained. Mt. Aukum/E-16 was closed to traffic for a few hours; then it was opened to one lane of traffic with CHP escorting vehicles between Grizzly Flat Road and Paradise Ranch Road. El Dorado County Fire, Diamond Springs Fire, El Dorado Hills Fire, Georgetown Fire, Rescue Fire, Pioneer Fire and the US Forest Service all assisted CAL FIRE in suppression efforts. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. For more information on creating defensible space around your home please visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org. For breaking news on wildfires join CAL FIRE on Facebook and Twitter at www.fire.ca.gov.
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