Diminishing winds help fight fast-spreading aerial fires in Calaveras County

COPPEROPOLIS — A decrease in wind helped combat the fast-spreading wildfire that burned at least 5,351 acres Tuesday and forced evacuations in the Copperopolis area of ​​Calaveras County.

Cal Fire's Tuolumne-Calaveras unit said the incident, dubbed the Aero Fire, began Monday in the area of ​​Aero and Hunt roads. Containment is now at 23%, Cal Fire said Tuesday evening. Wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour contributed to the fire's rapid spread.

On Tuesday, Cal Fire revealed that a firefighter suffered minor injuries during the incident. What exactly happened to the firefighter was not detailed, but Cal Fire noted that the firefighter had to be treated at a hospital.

“As we were able to send ground crews as well as aircraft putting retardant and water on the fire around the edges, we were able to start the process of slowing this fire down,” said Rick Carhart, fire chief. public information for Aero Fire. , said.

Mandatory evacuations were first in effect for the areas of Copper Town Square and O'Byrnes Ferry Road up to the county line, the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office said. All residents in this area should immediately evacuate. Additionally, Copper Cove Drive, west of Black Creek, is under an evacuation warning.

People with small animals can evacuate to Veterans Hall San Andreas, 156 Saint Charles Street. People with large animals can evacuate to the Frogtown Fairgrounds at 2465 Gunclub Road in Angels Camp.

In neighboring Tuolumne County, no mandatory evacuations were in place, but evacuation warnings were in effect for O'Byrnes Ferry Road from the Tuolumne-Calaveras county line to Highway 108.

Kendall Yoakum lives in Copperopolis and was evacuated Monday afternoon. He said he saw the smoke but didn't think much of it at first until he went outside.

“We just want to be home. We have a couple dogs with us in the pickup right now and they want to be home. It's just our little happy place,” Yoakum said.

Road closures remain in effect Tuesday morning on Highway 4 from the Stanislaus and Calaveras county lines at Murphy Drive to six miles west of Angels Camp at Poole Station Road. Additionally, Hunt Road at Milton Road, Salt Springs Valley Road, Felix Road and Rock Creek Road are closed.

More than 3,690 structures were threatened, with at least three destroyed and one damaged.

The Calaveras County Sheriff's Office said Monday that about 5,000 people were without power because of the fire.

“Once we started seeing it spreading with the wind, we started packing our bags,” said Joseph Tax, an evacuee. “So we gathered a bunch of stuff, and the sheriff came knocking on doors and told us all to evacuate.”

This is an area affected by a red flag warning issued Monday. Gusty winds and dry conditions throughout the region create a higher fire risk and a chance for flames to spread quickly.