5 months ago
AUBURN, CA - Some good news: crews have the 49 Fire burning in Auburn 70 percent contained.
Cal Fire also said late Monday afternoon that all evacuation orders would be lifted by 7 Monday night.
Flames have scorched 340 acres and leveled 63 homes and, three businesses. The blaze damaged three homes and six businesses.
Tuesday, Placer County will open a one-stop local assistance center to offer help to families and businesses affected by the 49 Fire.
The center will be in the Placer County Government Center (DeWitt Center) at 11517 F Avenue, and open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. County spokeswoman Anita Yoder said agencies will be present to help people with near and long-term needs as well as offer assistance in retrieving lost legal documents.
Full containment is expected Tuesday morning, according to Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant. More than 600 fire personnel are assigned to the fire.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but it appeared to start in dry grass that borders a neighborhood on one edge.
"We're working against Mother Nature when this fire took off," said Berlant. "It quickly blew this fire from burning in just a little grassland fire (to) burning immediately into homes, within minutes."
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Evacuations continue to be in place for Highway 49 east to Quartz Road, Highway 49 north to Saddleback, Dry Creek to Black Oak, Florance to Stanley Drive, Lockley Lane, Moss Rock and Shadow Rock. Evacuations to the Saddleback area have been lifted to residents only.
Gov. Schwarzenegger, who toured the burned streets late Monday morning, said the devastation was painful to see. He also urged residents to follow evacuation orders. Several people suffered severe burns in a Southern California wildfire over the weekend after refusing an evacuation directive. Monday, five people at a Los Angeles-Are ranch were trapped by flames after refusing to following orders to leave.
"When you hear from law enforcement and it's about evacuations, follow their orders. Because there's so many who think they have to stay behind and protect their home but it, they sometimes pay dearly for that," said Schwarzenegger.
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There is an evacuation center and American Red Cross shelter at Auburn Recreation Center's Chana Gym located in the Auburn Regional Park in North Auburn at 3770 Richardson Drive.
DeWitt Center at 11251 B Avenue in north Auburn is serving as an animal evacuation center.
As of Monday, power was still out to much of the fire zone area.
One northbound lane of Highway 49 will remain closed until further notice, officials say.
The Auburn airport is still closed because of fire danger near the runway.
Streets that remain closed are Parkway Drive, Greenstone Court, Griffin, Windsong and Dry Creek from Saddleback to Highway 49.
The wildfire started near Highway 49 and Quartz Drive south of the Auburn Airport around 2:20 p.m. Sunday, Berlant said. That number was down significantly from earlier estimates of between 500 and 700 acres.
"The fire has died down somewhat," Berlant said. "We do think (the line) is going to hold the fire in that area, but there's still a lot of work to be done."
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Berlant said the strong winds pushed the flames and threw embers as far as a mile past the fire's front lines. Berlant said there were no immediate reports of injuries connected to the fire.
"We're going to continue to build that containment line, making sure we have a good box of line all the way around the fire," Berlant said.
NEIGHBORHOODS BURN: Creekside Place resident Len Rider talks about fire's path through his neighborhood; 8/30/09, 7:30 p.m.
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In the Creekside Place area, fire decimated every house, leaving a landscape that looked more like a war zone than a quiet rural neighbhorhood.
Robert Carter came home to find part of his garage still standing, but nothing else.
"Until you see it, it's hard to imagine," Carter said. "It gives you closure, but at the same time, you're starting over.
All Carter was able to salvage from the remains of his home were some of his work tools.
"I'm better than some," Carter said half-heartedly.
Daylin Pancan was at work Sunday afternoon when she got the call that her family's Auburn home was destroyed.
"Everything's gone. In a matter of minutes, everything we had," a sobbing Pancan said. "Whatever we're wearing is all we have."
The loss to Pancan's family was only compounded when they were allowed back in to their neighborhood -- only to find the family pets had also been lost to the flames.
"We had four dogs," Pancan said. "We found two of them laying next to each other."
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PETS: Volunteers Help Auburn Pets Injured, Lost in Fire: Will Frampton's Report; 8/30/09, 11 p.m.
Firefighters like Patrick Mason with Cal Fire said with entire neighborhoods in flames, crews are left with difficult, but necessary choices.
"At that point, basically, you can just triage the houses. You have to go through and pick which ones you can save," Mason said. "We had one engine for 10 houses so we've just got to pick what we can save. The rest, unfortunately...we've got to let go."
Amid the destruction, a handful of area businesses quickly jumped in to offer help to the victims. The Staybridge Suites on Lonetree Boulevard in Rocklin is providing a two-nights free stay for anyone who can prove they live in the Auburn fire area.
David Freeman, owner of the Northridge Restaurant at the Lake of the Pines on Higgins Road in Auburn, said his restaurant is also offering free lunches or dinners -- also with proof of residence -- for fire victims.
