CalFire reports 44% containment as of Monday
With the combination of mass resources, manpower and more cooperative weather conditions, firefighters are gaining ground when it comes to containment of the Crozier Fire burning in El Dorado County. As of Monday, officials for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Service (CalFire) and the United State Forest Service (USFS) reported that containment of the fire had reached 44%.
“Minimal burning activity was observed overnight, with smoldering trees, downed snags, and pockets of brush continuing to burn within the established perimeter. The large amount of dry fuel remains a significant concern,” CalFire explained in its Monday morning incident briefing. “However, improving weather conditions and a gradual cooling trend are expected to support firefighting efforts as crews continue to mop up and strengthen containment lines.”
Currently the fire, which is being managed under the unified command of CalFire, the USFS and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, has been mapped in size of 1,938 acres in size. Over 1700 personnel from the multiple agencies are actively working on the blaze which has been a threat to more than 4,000 structures across multiple communities, many of which have been under evacuation orders or warnings since last week.
The Eldorado County Sheriff’s Office has begun repopulating some areas of the communities of Swansboro, Mosquito,Georgetown, Garden Valley, Volcanoville, and Quintet. As they allow many of these residents to return home, officials are urging caution by resident as the firefight on the blaze is far from over and a great amount of fire equipment and personnel continue to work in multiple areas.
According to the latest update, some areas continue to remain under an evacuation order or warning. For up to the minute details on current evacuation orders, warnings and street closures, residents are urged to view them on PERIMETER MAP HERE.
As of Monday, road closures in the area continue to include: Mosquito Road at Rock Creek Road, Rock Creek Road at Trail Gulch Rd, Hwy 193 at Shoemaker Rd, East bound Wentworth Springs Road at Citabria Lane and Westbound Wentworth Springs Rd at Stumpy Meadows Reservoir.
In response to the evacuations that are still in place for mane, the Cameron Park Community Services District, located at 2502 Country Club Drive, Cameron Park, CA, continues to be the official evacuation center, providing shelter and support to those displaced by the fire.
Forest, airport, fairgrounds closures remain in place
An official Closure Order was issued over the weekend on the Eldorado National Forest to provide for public safety during wildland fire suppression efforts for the Crozier Fire and forest rehabilitation work.
The order prohibits the use of areas, roads, and trails within the closure area seven days per week, 24 hours per day, within the Eldorado National Forest.
“This closure has been put in place to protect public and firefighter safety,” said Jen House, Acting Forest Supervisor. “We have over 1500 firefighters here and many residents affected by the Crozier Fire. For their sake, we ask that the public respect the closure so we can concentrate on getting this fire contained as quickly as possible,”said the USFS.
In addition to the forest closure, officials closed public use of the Placerville Airport last week as well to enable it to be used solely for fire operations. Additional closures due to the fire include the El Dorado County Fairgrounds which is now home to a fire operations camp and closed to all access except for working fire personnel until further notice.
The firefighting effort continues to be extensive for the Crozier Fire, involving 1,776 personnel who are working tirelessly to contain the blaze. They are supported by a substantial number of resources, including 108 engines, 37 water tenders, 18 helicopters, eight hand crews, and now 45 bulldozers, with air tankers being deployed as needed. The coordination between CAL FIRE’s Amador-El Dorado Unit, the Eldorado National Forest, California Highway Patrol, and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office is crucial in this large-scale operation, according to CalFire’s latest report.
Arson arrest said to be unrelated
The Placerville Police Department reported on Thursday that officers had made an arson arrest close to the time the Crozier Fire started.
Several social media posts previously reportedly shared misinformation regarding the arrest of the suspect that was made near Rock Creek Road. However, the department clarified that the arrest does not appear to be connected to the fire at this time. The specific cause remains under investigation.
Information for the #CrozierFire can be found at https://www.facebook.com/CALFIREAEU or at https://www.fire.ca.gov/. Find the ALERTCalifornia camera on the fire at https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/2320.
Evacuation orders and warnings have been issued for the Mosquito/Swansboro community and the adjacent areas. For evacuation updates, please visit https://app.perimeterplatform.com/incidents/polygon/39711
El Dorado County, CA – Governmenthas launched a#CrozierFirededicated webpage on the County website as a one-stop information center. Please visit and bookmark:https://bit.ly/3WyW0sE .