Evacuations increase as Pay Fire spreads dangerously fast near Placerville; hundreds lose power
![Evacuations increase as Pay Fire spreads dangerously fast near Placerville; hundreds lose power Evacuations increase as Pay Fire spreads dangerously fast near Placerville; hundreds lose power](https://i1.wp.com/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/07/7a919ad5-5203-48f9-8e8d-11788150fbc7/thumbnail/1200x630/0fdddb570312c9d53d0941a2e1a92922/sg-lv-el-dorado-pay-fire-5p-raw-2.jpg?v=57e8061b2038d609da26e467de5ddfb8&w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1)
EL DORADO COUNTY — Evacuations are underway and several aircraft hangars are involved in a vegetation fire south of Placerville Saturday afternoon, fire officials said.
Cal Fire AEU said the fire, called the Pay Fire, is about 20 acres in size and spreading at a dangerous rate.
The fire is moving east toward the Placerville airport along Country Club Drive, the El Dorado County Fire Protection District said.
A localized fire was reported east of Texas Hill Road, forcing more evacuations, authorities said.
The Fire Protection District said at 2:30 p.m. that multiple hangers were involved at the airport.
Evacuations
According to the evacuation map, mandatory evacuations are in place for roads including Barett Drive, Brendan Way, Lions Park and Airport Road, from the Goldman Lane area to Country Club Drive. They were expanded around 4:45 p.m. to include Texas Hill Road to Big Barn Road.
The evacuation order was also extended to the east side of Newtown Road, to include Parkway Drive, Ivy Knoll Drive to Learning Tree Road, Mining Brook Road and Still Meadow Road near the El Dorado Trail.
The map also shows evacuation warnings along Airport Road from Goldman Lane to Broadway. Those warnings extend east to Newtown Road and Barragan Court.
Notable buildings targeted by the warning include El Dorado Adventist School, Gold Trail Motor Lodge and Premier Healthcare Placerville.
Evacuation warnings were also issued around 3:40 p.m. for the area south and southwest of Cedar Ravine Road. The roads include Nugget Lane, Elysian Way and Sluice Box Road.
The alert has also been extended to the northwest of the mandatory evacuation zones. Some roads are now under evacuation alert, including Heritage Lane, Wiltse Road, Lane Drive and Eskaton Drive.
A temporary evacuation shelter has been established at the Placerville Library, located at 345 Fair Lane.
Animals can be taken to the El Dorado County Animal Service located at 6435 Capitol Ave. in Diamond Springs.
Power outages
Power lines were also down near the area where the fire started, the fire district said. Firefighters did not say what caused the fire.
PG&E’s outage map shows that about 170 customers lost power just minutes after 2:30 p.m. south of the Placerville airport.
Nearly 1,800 customers were also without power around 3 p.m. The outage extended from the airport area to Placerville and the north side of Highway 50 near Placerville Drive. It was later reduced to about 311 customers in the area under evacuation orders and warnings.
Road closures
Airport Road is closed at Broadway and Cedar Ravine Road is closed at Cedar Ravine and Camp Nauvoo Road.
Residents evacuating the area are asked to use Paydirt Road to Cedar Ravine Road to evacuate.
News Source : www.cbsnews.com
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