California: Sand Fire south of Placerville

Bill Gabbert
July 26, 2014

(UPDATE at 7:15 p.m. PDT, July 28, 2014)

Firefighters continue to make progress on the Sand fire south of Placerville, California. The Incident Management Team still maps the fire at 3,800 acres but the containment has increased from 65 to 75 percent. These percentages are generally very arbitrary and meaningless. They are sometimes pulled out of the air (or other places), depending on the political climate, the evacuation situation, and the phase of the moon. Back in the old days it was actually the percentage of fireline that had been constructed vs. the total perimeter of the fire, as described in the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s glossary of firefighting terms.

There has been a decrease in the areas under evacuation orders and the number of firefighting resources assigned, as well.

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(UPDATE at 6:23 p.m. PDT, July 28, 2014)

Map of Sand Fire — Map of the Sand Fire, July 28, 2014. CAL FIRE. (click to enlarge)

According to CAL FIRE the Sand Fire south of Placerville, California has not grown over the last 24 hours, with the size Monday morning remaining the same as on Sunday — 3,800 acres — while the containment has increased to 65 percent.

The number of structures burned has increased to 13 residences and 38 outbuildings. The resources assigned to the fire include 1,937 personnel, 196 engines, 51 hand crews, 30 dozers, and 52 water tenders.

California wildfires destroy 10 homes, 100s of people evacuated #SandFire #ElPortal http://t.co/y561pXHv6O pic.twitter.com/WFvGtW7T9l

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 27, 2014

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(UPDATE at 8 a.m. PDT, July 27, 2014)

CAL FIRE is releasing very little detailed information about the Sand Fire near Placerville, California, but a few minutes ago they announced that the revised size of the fire is 3,800 acres (down from 4,000) and said it is 35 percent contained. The fire has burned 10 residences and 7 outbuildings. The Sacramento Bee reported that Chris Anthony, A CAL FIRE spokesperson, said the fire was caused by a vehicle driving over dry vegetation. We will post an updated map of the fire when it becomes available.

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(UPDATE at 9:30 p.m. PDT, July 26, 2014)

CAL FIRE reported at 8:15 p.m. that the Sand Fire south of Placerville, California has grown to 4,000 acres with 20 percent containment. There is no change in the number of structures burned; five residences and seven outbuildings. Resources working on the fire include 1,464 personnel, 149 engines, 45 hand crews, and 16 dozers.

#SandFire around 3pm from @HelwigWinery pic.twitter.com/PTmqq938vr — James Thorall (@JimThorall) July 27, 2014

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(UPDATE at 7:43 p.m. PDT, July 26, 2014)

At 4:34 p.m. PDT CAL FIRE estimated the size of the Sand Fire south of Placerville at 3,000 acres with 20 percent containment.

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(UPDATED at 4:25 p.m. PDT, July 26, 2014)

Map of Sand Fire at 2:14 p.m., July 26, 2014. *(Click to see a larger version.)*

The red icons on the map of the Sand Fire above represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:14 p.m. PDT, July 26, 2015. It shows significant growth on the east side, compared to the map below from about nine hours earlier. The yellow icons represent heat from Friday. The fire is putting up a large column of smoke visible from Sacramento. Air Attack has requested more air tankers of any type; with the numerous structures that are threatened and the ongoing evacuations, he is not particular at this time which type shows up. Firefighters are burning around some of the structures ahead of the fire to reduce the fuel available when the fire reaches them. **** (Originally published at 2:29 p.m. PDT, July 26, 2014)

The Sand Fire, 10 miles south of Placerville, California, required the evacuation of several dozen homes a few hours after it started at 4:30 Friday afternoon. The spread of the fire slowed down by sunset under an aggressive aerial assault, but picked up again during the night. As this is written at 2 p.m. PDT, spot fires are helping the fire spread toward structures. Air Attack has ordered a total of seven air tankers, including one of the DC-10 Very Large Air Tankers. Five strike teams of engines, with five engines each, were ordered earlier. The fire is 14 miles north of Jackson and 33 miles east of Sacramento. (See the map of the Sand Fire above.) At least 13 structures have burned, including 4 residences. CAL FIRE reported at 8 a.m. on Saturday that the fire had blackened 1,300 acres and they were calling it 20 percent contained. It is being fought by 672 personnel, 53 engines, 21 hand crews, and 9 dozers. The weather on Saturday is making it difficult for firefighters, with a prediction of 98 to 103 degrees, a relative humidity of 8 to 13 percent, and winds gusting up to 18 mph out of the west in the afternoon.