Wildfire ignites northeast of Placerville, forcing evacuations in El Dorado County
A new wildfire ignited northeast of Placerville early Wednesday, prompting evacuation warnings for communities in El Dorado County.
The Crozier fire started at 1:21 a.m. on the northwest side of Slate Mountain, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It had burned 182 acres with no known containment as of 10 a.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to Cal Fire.
The Park fire has burned more than 400,000 acres in two weeks. Photos from space show a region destroyed and a landscape blackened.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders and warnings for residences in the Mosquito/Swansboro communities around 2 a.m.
The evacuation order was issued for neighborhoods that are north and northeast from the Mosquito Airport to the fire line.
Evacuation warning zones — meaning there is impending danger to life and property and an order to leave may follow — have been extended in the last several hours to include areas north to Quintet and south of the evacuation order zone, east along Highway 193, and north along Wentworth Springs Road.
The community of Volcanoville is also under an evacuation warning, according to the sheriff’s office.
Residents can check Perimetermap.com for more information on evacuation areas.
Fire weather days have increased in Western U.S. over the last 50 years, with some of the largest jumps in California, according to a new report by Climate Central, a nonprofit news outlet that reports on climate change.
For residents who are displaced, there is a temporary evacuation point at the Placerville Library, located at 345 Fair Lane.
The El Dorado County Animal Services Shelter, at 6435 Capitol Ave. in Diamond Springs, will be open to house animals displaced by the evacuation order. If no one answers the door, please call (530) 621-5795.
The Crozier fire is the latest blaze in an already explosive fire season. Wildfires have scorched more than 798,000 acres and destroyed or damaged more than 1,100 structures statewide this year, according to Cal Fire.
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