CAMERON PARK, El Dorado County — A vegetation fire that began several days ago in El Dorado County exploded into a 30,000-acre monster Tuesday, leveling parts of the town of Grizzly Flats and threatening to incinerate other nearby communities.

The speed with which the Caldor Fire grew — from 6,500 acres to 30,000 within hours — underscored the unpredictability and high danger faced by communities nestled in the forests of the Sierra foothills.

In two instances, firefighters battling the wildfire were approached by seriously injured residents escaping the devastation in Grizzly Flats. Both victims were airlifted to area hospitals. Grizzly Flats had been ordered evacuated, but a fire official said the wildfire grew so quickly that residents “may not have had time to react to it.”

“These fires are extremely fast-moving. … So in the process of evacuating they may have been injured,” Chris Vestal, a spokesperson for the Caldor Fire, said. “What we do want people to take notice of is we’d rather that they leave when it’s a warning. We’d rather that they’re prepared. If they have any concern, they need to leave the area.”

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

1of2

The frames of chairs and the chimney are the only things left at the Grizzly Flats Community Church after the Caldor Fire burned through the area on Aug. 17, 2021. 

Sara Nevis/APShow MoreShow Less

2of2A Folsom fire engine drives past Jenkinson Lake as the Caldor fire burns near Pollock Pines, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021.Ethan Swope/APShow MoreShow Less

Carol and Randy Hill were among those who fled their Grizzly Flats home on Sunday night. On Tuesday, they sat in their pickup truck in the parking lot of the evacuation shelter set up in Cameron Park with their black Lab Bella between them and little Chihuahua Carlos on the passenger side floor. They hadn’t slept in two days.

“The fire was going so fast,” Randy Hill said. “You could see at the top of the street, the red.”

By Tuesday, much of their community, including the school and post office, was destroyed.

Evacuee Carol Hill was hoping her retirement home was spared, “but I’m also trying to be realistic.”

“You always know when you live in the mountains this could happen,” she said. “We’ve been in denial, thinking it’s not going to happen to us. It happens to other people.”

Randi Harrod of Sly Park also waited in the parking lot, two cats in carriers.

“It’s just something we’ve been dreading,” she said of the now ever-present fires during summer and fall in California. “You check the yard, you rake the leaves to prepare and you know it’s coming sometime.”

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove (Sacramento County), whose district includes El Dorado County, said the blaze ripped through Grizzly Flats, a community of 1,000. In a statement, the congressman said he’d do “everything I can at the federal level to assist with the heartbreaking situation.”

Cal Fire said it was not yet safe to send assessment crews to the area to tally the damage.

Extremely high fire danger in Northern California prompted Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Tuesday to impose power shut-offs in 18 counties to as many as 51,000 customer accounts. The move is an effort by the utility to prevent a utility-caused wildfire.

What sparked the Caldor Fire wasn’t clear as of Tuesday, but U.S. Forest Service officials said the fire began around 7 p.m. Saturday, 4 miles south of Grizzly Flats and 2 miles east of Omo Ranch. There was no containment.

The blaze prompted mandatory evacuations for small towns in the fire’s path, including areas near Grizzly Flats, Somerset and Happy Valley, and orders were expanded Tuesday night to include Sly Park, nearby areas around Highway 50 and all areas between Mormon Emigrant Trail and Highway 88.

During a live-streamed community meeting about the blaze, Cal Fire Unit Chief Mike Blankenheim gestured to an empty wall behind him, saying he would typically refer to a map during operational briefings on fires, but this incident is different, pointing to “extremely fast” fire growth starting on Monday.

“This thing has grown fast enough over the last 12 hours that we are having a hard time keeping an accurate fire perimeter on a map,” Blankenheim said.

Blankenheim said that “unfortunately in the path of that fire, there have been communities.” He said Grizzly Flats and Leoni Meadows, a camp and retreat center, were “heavily impacted,” along with other areas. He said there has been structure damage and loss in those areas, and said damage inspection teams should provide details about that damage “in the near future.”

The region’s steep, rugged terrain made fighting the Caldor Fire difficult, the Forest Service said. The agency was also straining under staffing shortages created in part by the large number of fires tearing across the state. Caldor was one of 12 significant wildfires burning in California, including the 626,000-acre Dixie Fire, which on Tuesday was threatening Susanville.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in El Dorado County in response to the Caldor Fire on Tuesday, a move that helped the state acquire, hours later, an emergency assistance grant to help in the firefight from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The state also received FEMA grants to help in its response to the Dixie and Monument fires.

8/17/21 at 6AM
***THE EL DORADO COUNTY SHERIFF HAS ISSUED UPDATES TO EVACUATION ORDERS NEAR THE CALDOR FIRE***

WHAT: Update to the Evacuation
WHEN: Effective Immediately
Where: Below are the updates to the evacuation orders
EVAC ORDERS HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR THE FOLLOWING AREA pic.twitter.com/N3RCz3sWCn

— CAL FIRE AEU (@CALFIREAEU) August 17, 2021

Chronicle staff writer Omar Shaikh Rashad contributed to this report.

Jill Tucker, Lauren Hernández and Dominic Fracassa are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com, lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com, dfracassa@sfchronicle.com

The post Caldor Hearth in El Dorado County explodes to 30,000 acres, rips via Grizzly Flats, injures 2 appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

GRIZZLY FLATS, El Dorado County (CBS SF) – New evacuations were ordered in El Dorado County ahead of the Caldor Fire that exploded over 30,000 acres in the Sierra Nevada on Tuesday when Governor Gavin Newsom declared the county a state of emergency.

The fire has already destroyed dozens of homes and threatens hundreds more buildings, firefighters said.

At 6:30 p.m., the El Dorado County Sheriff issued new mandatory evacuation orders for the following areas:

• South side of Highway 50 north of Sly Park to extend west to Snows Road
• North side of Highway 50 from Larsen Drive to the west and Ice House to the east

Portions of Pollock Pines, a community well known to Bay Area travelers traveling to the Lake Tahoe area along US Highway 50, were evacuated from wildfire Tuesday afternoon.

CHP warned that Highway 50 may have to be closed because of the fire.

According to the Cal Fire update Tuesday night, the fire consumed approximately 30,000 acres without containment after igniting over the weekend in the Cosumnes River Canyon area of ​​the El Dorado National Forest.

The fire was estimated at around 6,500 acres on Tuesday morning.

Access to the fire is extremely difficult due to the steep, rugged terrain, according to the US Forest Service.

A Cal Fire battalion chief said at least 50 homes had been burned down in the Grizzly Flats area as gusty winds drove embers into homes with defensive space.

Cal Fire also confirmed that two civilians were found who were seriously injured in the fire.

One of the fire victims reportedly turned to the fire department in the Grizzly Flats area on Tuesday morning. These firefighters initially provided initial medical care, but the fire victim was then taken to hospital by rescue aircraft for treatment of serious injuries.

TWO CIVIL INJURIES IN CALDOR FIRE REPORTED
On August 17, 2021, two civilians were injured in the fire in Caldor, which is currently burning in El Dorado county. Please note that this is a dynamic and rapidly evolving incident. pic.twitter.com/jUn7IBFNbq

– CAL FIRE AEU (@CALFIREAEU) August 17, 2021

The second person was also found in the Grizzly Flats area and was also transported by ambulance to a hospital for treatment. The authorities did not provide any further information about the fire victims, who were also seriously injured and required an airlift.

On Tuesday afternoon, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the El Dorado county because of the fire in Caldor.

ONLY ANNOUNCED @ CAgovernor Newsom proclaims #StateOfEmergency in @CountyElDorado due to # CaldorFireFire burned more than 6,500 hectares, containing 0 %The size exploded on Monday night resulting in mandatory # evacuations and the destruction of several buildings
More information: https://t.co/hmt4kBWX68 pic.twitter.com/ugdV0E1N5x

– Cal JA (@Cal_OES) August 17, 2021

Raw Video: Aftermath of Caldor Fire in Grizzly Flats

The actual number of buildings destroyed and damaged was not known until 1:35 p.m. as the fire conditions were not yet certain to allow assessment teams to be consulted. Fire officials said the Caldor fire was a rapidly changing incident with dynamic fire behavior and posed a high risk to several inhabited communities.

The El Dorado County Sheriff has ordered the following evacuations:

Pollack pines

• East of Sly Park Road. South of Highway 50 to Ice House Road. North of the Mormon Emigrant Trail (including Jenkinson’s / Sly Park Lake).

Grizzly Flats / Somerset

• All streets off Grizzly Flat Rd., East of Mt. Aukum Rd. In Somerset (known as Four Corners) in Grizzly Flats Proper

Happy valley

• All roads off Happy Valley Road, east of Mt. Aukum Road. in Somerset to Sciaroni
• Leoni Wiesen
• Saw Town Creek
• Caldor area including North South Road
• Dogtown Creek south of Caldor Road
• Barney Ridge east of Omo Ranch Road
• From Omo Ranch Road to North South Road
• Caldor area including North South Road
• Pi’Pi Valley to Armstrong Hill

Evacuation warnings have been issued for the following areas:

• South of Highway 50 to Pleasant Valley Road. From Sly Park Road west to Snows Road and Newtown Road, including the Rancho Del Sol community.
• Towns of Omo Ranch Proper, Omo Ranch East, and Omo Ranch South.
• All streets off Grizzly Flat Rd., East of Mt. Aukum Rd. In Somerset (Four Corners) in Grizzly Flats right
• All roads off Happy Valley Road, east of Mt. Aukum Road. in Somerset to Sciaroni
• Leoni Wiesen
• Saw Town Creek
• Caldor area including North South Road
• Dogtown Creek south of Caldor Road
• Barney Ridge east of Omo Ranch Road
• From Omo Ranch Road to North South Road
• Caldor area including North South Road
• Pi’Pi Valley to Armstrong Hill

Cal Fire said Tuesday morning that at least 800 buildings are currently at risk, including apartment buildings and outbuildings. There are also threats to businesses, commercial forests, vineyards, and other agricultural land.

Firefighters have been working on establishing indirect control lines on the eastern flank of the fire, while, according to the forest service, an emergency line was planned north of the fire. Fire officials said crews were challenged by staff shortages and other fire incidents in the state.

#CaldorFire is raging out of control. #ElDoradoCounty @GoodDayTraffic @CameronCGlenn @CBSNews @CBSSacramento #wildfires #californiawildfires pic.twitter.com/jeZbNkm69l

– GD (@ CameraGuyDave1) August 17, 2021

A red flag warning was in effect in the region until 8 a.m. on Wednesday. The hot and dry weather over the fire was expected to continue earlier this week and the winds will continue to pick up as the week progresses.

A power outage map from Pacific Gas and Electric showed that more than 1,100 customers in the area were without power as of Tuesday afternoon.

CALDOR FIRE: Information on incidents, evacuations, maps

The wildfire began on Saturday night about six kilometers south of Grizzly Flats and about three kilometers east of Omo Ranch. The cause of the fire was still the subject of the investigation.

A local evacuate, Will Berndt, said the fire broke out in an area where a group camped along Dogtown Creek. Another witness told Berndt that two people with scorched clothing left the premises to alert others to a fire and to leave the area.

“It wasn’t a big fire, so I thought they might find someone to react to it,” said Berndt. “Nothing has happened.”

Berndt said around 9 a.m. Sunday morning he had returned to the area to take a look and the fire had spread across the Middle Fork Consumnes River towards Omo Ranch and ran along the canyon rim. At around 11:30 a.m., Berndt said firefighters were using air tankers to fight the fire.

Berndt said that in the decades he lived in the area, he never had to evacuate from wildfire.

“We talked about it, we’ve been up here for 43 years and we talked about it, so what if the mountain burns, what are we going to do?” Said Berndt. “It’s like, well, you just take what you can and get out of here. It’s one of those thoughts that you see on TV, you see that other communities have to deal with it, and you say, ‘Well, that sucks.’ But you never think we’re standing in the way of a smelly firestorm. “

ALSO READ: Dixie Fire Update: New Mandatory Evacuation Orders Issued in Lassen County

An evacuation center has opened at Fireman’s Hall at 3734 China Garden Road in Diamond Springs. People in need of small animal shelters can contact El Dorado County Animal Services at (530) 621-5795. Large animals were housed at the Amador County Fairgrounds, 18621 Sherwood St., Plymouth.

The post Huge Wildfire Explodes to 30,000 Acres; Newsom Declares State of Emergency – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

MARKLEEVILLE (CBS SF / AP) – A once smoldering wildfire came to life, growing to 21,000 acres on Saturday, sending a wall of windswept flames towards the evacuated Sierra community of Markleeville.

The Tamarack fire began on July 4th due to lightning strikes, according to the US Forest Service. The agency said it monitored the fire daily before it exploded on Friday.

The rapidly growing forest fire forced the cancellation of the “Death Ride”, an extreme bike tour through the Sierra Nevada.

Evacuations have been conducted for Markleeville, Grover’s Hot Springs Park and Campground, Shay Creek, Markleeville Village, and East Fork Resort. On Saturday afternoon, the rapid advance of the fire forced additional evacuations or the Alpine Village and Woodfords areas.

120 men fought the fire until Saturday evening.

#TamarackFire crossed Hwy 89 east, crossing the N of the city and the S of Airport Road. Tremendous energy in this fire section, the intersection section goes far N beyond the airport road. pic.twitter.com/avosRHeAmv

– craig philpott (@CphilpottCraig) July 17, 2021

Fueled by extremely dry conditions, the fire – which burns in mountainous terrain – grew from around 500 hectares to 1,600 hectares on Friday at 8 p.m. and to 6,600 hectares at daybreak on Saturday. By early Saturday evening, the wildfire had spread to 21,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.

A notice posted on the 103-mile Death Ride website requested all riders to evacuate the area. The fire left thousands of cyclists and onlookers stranded in the small town and ran to get out.

Kelli Pennington and her family camped near town on Friday so her husband could join his ninth ride when they were told to leave. They had observed the smoke development during the day, but were surprised by the rapid spread of the fire.

“It went so quickly,” said Pennington. “We left our tents, hammocks and some groceries, but we got most of our things, pushed our two children into the car and left.”

The massive pyrocumulus cloud, kicked up by the intensity and heat of the fire, was visible to Lake Tahoe residents and visitors when they woke up on Saturday morning.

Tamarack Fire burns uncontrollably near Markleeville

The highways 88, 89 and 4 were closed in the fire area. At 7:45 a.m. the flame was 6 miles south of Markleeville and was advancing rapidly. At least three buildings burned out.

On Saturday afternoon, the flames spread rapidly and crossed Highway 89 north of Markleeville and south of Airport Road.

“The Tamarack fire is moving quickly and aggressively,” wrote the Alpine County’s sheriff’s department on Facebook on Saturday, urging residents to evacuate.

#TamarackFire crossed Hwy 89 east and crossed the N of town with rapid ROS and power in that section of the fire. pic.twitter.com/x2gQcxpUxn

– craig philpott (@CphilpottCraig) July 17, 2021

The fire also forced the cancellation of the “Death Ride” on Saturday, a 103-mile bike tour in the so-called Californian Alps over three mountain passes of the Sierra Nevada.

The #TamarackFire, 10 km. S. of Markleeville, actively burned all night, and is currently charted over 6,600 acres. Crews, equipment and a Type 2 Incident Management team have been ordered and will arrive today. Highway. 88/89/4 are closed in the fire area. pic.twitter.com/7eH0uAHfxX

– Humboldt Toiyabe NF (@HumboldtToiyabe) July 17, 2021

The overnight video showed flames covering the mountainside and destroying at least one house.

© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report

The post Tamarack Fireplace Explodes to 21,000 Acres; Zero Containment – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

PLUMAS COUNTY (CBS SF) – A wildfire that broke out in Plumas County on Tuesday exploded overnight, growing to 1,200 acres and burning not far from the same area devastated by the campfire in 2018.

Cal Fire’s Butte County’s office, known as the Dixie Fire, said the vegetation in Lassen National Forest in Plumas County’s is still burning on Wednesday morning, consuming the vegetation.

CONTINUE READING: UPDATE: Richard Sherman arrested for domestic violence burglary; May also be subject to DUI, hit-and-run fees

The fire started just after 5 p.m. Tuesday evening and grew to 10-15 acres in a matter of hours, despite Cal Fire requesting air support. Access for ground crew was challenging in the remote area, allowing the fire to grow exponentially to its current size of approximately 1,200 acres overnight. It is currently at zero containment.

The Dixie Fire burns about 10 miles northeast of Paradise, the small town largely devastated by a wildfire in 2018 that killed 85 people. Fortunately, according to the fire department, the new fire is burning in a northerly direction, away from inhabited areas.

Paradise officials carefully monitored the fire and said there was no evacuation order or warning for the city yet. Emergency lines built during the North Complex fire last year will be used to keep the fire out of populated areas, firefighters said.

But the Butte County Sheriff issued precautionary evacuation warnings for the Pulga and Concow areas on Wednesday morning.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) is issuing an EVACUATION WARNING for the Pulga and East Concow areas as wildfire is burning in the area.
For more information, see the public card on the BCSO website, https://t.co/OM08mbGqHO, or call 833-512-5378. pic.twitter.com/Ym95HS05Cb

– Butte County Sheriff (@ButteSheriff) July 14, 2021

Air support provided by NorCal Air Operations has been able to release fire retardant drops more frequently due to its proximity to Chico Air Force Base, officials said.

Fire fighters are making good progress on the #DixieFire despite the fire conditions as Chico Air Attack Base is five minutes away. This benefits air tankers as they have a quick charge and return to fire (10 minute turnaround time). pic.twitter.com/RGmPwTcT9A

CONTINUE READING: Lafayette City Council announces procedures to replace the resigned member

– NorCal Air Operations (@NorcalAirOps) July 14, 2021

Meanwhile, a fire in the sierra south of Yosemite National Park stayed just under 39 square kilometers, but containment rose to 21%.

The River Fire stretches across two counties during the park’s main tourist season.

KPIX learned Wednesday that multiple fires are burning in Yosemite National Park, but officials say these are very small and will not affect visitor areas or parking services.

In northeast California, crews reported progress on the state’s largest fire to date this year. The Beckwourth Complex, a combined pair of light-ignited flames, was 71% contained after blackening nearly 149 square miles (386 square kilometers) near the Nevada state line.

Damage is still being counted in the small rural town of Doyle, California, where flames entered the weekend and destroyed 33 homes, including Beverly Houdyshell’s. The 79-year-old said Tuesday she was too old and poor to rebuild and wasn’t sure what her future holds.

“What chance do I have of building another house, of having another home?” Said Houdyshell. “No chance at all.”

“I can’t just buy another house, such a boom. I had insurance. I haven’t heard from them yet. I called her but I didn’t hear anything, “she added.

MORE NEWS: Latest Child Tax Credit: How to Use the IRS Update Portal

© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The post Dixie Fireplace Explodes to 1,200 Acres Close to 2018 Camp Fireplace Destruction – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

See’s Candies from Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A), the 100-year-old maker and seller of chocolates, lollipops, toffee and Warren Buffett’s favorite treat – peanut brittle – had the best quarter ever in 2021 earlier in the year, according to CEO Pat Egan.

“We are fully back, I think. We had our best January ever, our best February ever, we just finished our best first quarter ever, ”Egan told Yahoo Finance ahead of Berkshire Hathaway’s 2021 annual meeting, streaming exclusively on Yahoo Finance.

Egan, who took the helm of See’s Candies in the spring of 2019 and is the third CEO in the company’s history, described the past year as “the longest decade” of his life, when the famous candy retailer survived the COVID-19 crisis.

Full coverage of Berkshire Hathaway 2021 2021 Annual General Meeting

When the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States last March, See closed all of its 245 stores in a matter of days, and shortly after closed its e-commerce fulfillment center in southern California.

“From that point on, we just said, ‘We’re not going to reopen any stores or our factories until we can create a safe operating environment for all of our employees.’ That took a while and when we restored at the end of summer we saw customers come back. But it was pretty tough for that time, “added Egan.

PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 25, 2019: A man pushing a stroller stops outside a See’s Candies shop in Palm Springs, California. Founded in Los Angeles in 1921, the company is now headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company has been owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Corporation since 1972. (Photo by Robert Alexander / Getty Images)

Amid pandemic bans and stay-at-home orders, See’s Candies’ e-commerce business grew by about 70% in total packages shipped last year. In addition, online sales have remained robust even with reopenings.

“”[What] you might expect that when the stores open again [e-commerce] would wear off a little. It has not. In our first quarter, we were up nearly 160% from the first quarter of last year. ”

Egan noted that in-store traffic was gradually decreasing, but the company was “almost back to 100%”.

The story goes on

“But our e-commerce, which has more than doubled, has actually stayed at that level, and we are okay with it not coming back to earth. It presents some other operational challenges, but we have definitely expanded our customer base. ”Egan added.

Julia La Roche is a correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Follow her up Twitter.

Read more from the Daily Journal Meeting:

Berkshire Hathaway rerun

The post Berkshire Hathaway-owned See’s Candies delivers report first quarter, e-commerce development explodes appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.