With Butte Fire raging in Sierra foothills, Nevada fire officials urge preparedness
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Fri, 09/11/2015 - 6:29pm
With the Butte Fire growing to more than 64,000 acres Friday in nearby California foothill counties of Amador and Calaveras counties, fire danger throughout the entire region persists. And with near record high heat stretching into western Nevada through Saturday, the fire danger becomes dire.
The Butte Fire burning southwest of Carson City in the Sierra foothills of California, has grown to 64,728 acres and is 5 percent contained as of Friday night, according to CalFire. There are other fires burning in the foothills and Sierra, but none to the magnitude of this fire. California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Friday for both counties, with more than 2,400 firefighters on scene and more on the way.
CalFire says the Butte Fire is expanding in all directions burning in hard to reach steep river drainages. The high heat, low humidity, and volatile dry grassy oak woodland have made for especially dangerous fire behavior and challenging terrain for firefighters.
Road closures for Amador County are as follows: Clinton Road at Butte Mountain Road (Both Ends) Butte Mountain Road Cutoff at Clinton Road. Amador Lane at Clinton Road, Electra at SR 49, Ponderosa Road at Tabeaud, Access to Lake Tabeaud is closed; Highway 88 at W. Clinton Road, at Irish Town Road, Tabeaud Road, Aqueduct Circle and Mount Zion.
in Calaveras County road closures are at SR 26 and Highway 49 at Mokelumne Hill East to Ridge Road, SR 26 and Ponderosa Road, SR 26 and Jesus Maria; SR 26 at Hwy 49, SR 26 at Lower Dorray Road.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service says smoke and haze will stretch from the Sierra and possibly into western Nevada valleys through at least Saturday with near record high temperatures. Some relief may be on the way as scattered thunderstorms are possible Sunday with cooler temperatures next week.
With the threat of fire present, the Nevada Division of Forestry announced Friday it is partnering with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Living With Fire program in a new campaign promoting fire prevention in communities.
America's PrepareAthon is a national, grassroots campaign for action to increase individual and community preparedness and resilience through hazard-specific drills, group discussions, and exercises. The goals of the campaign are to increase the number of people who understand the disasters that could happen in their community, what to do to be safe and mitigate damage and take action to increase their preparedness.
“We are encouraging all Nevadans to prepare and practice a family emergency evacuation plan,” said Ryan Shane, Community Protection Program Coordinator with the Nevada Division of Forestry. “For much of Nevada, one of the most likely disasters is wildfire.”
The Living With Fire program staff is also available to help plan an educational event or activity in your area and provide more information about how to prepare our home and community to survive the next wildfire. Staff will be participating in many local events this month, including Fire Fest in South Lake Tahoe and the UNR Field Day in Reno, both on September 26.
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