News // Forest fires in California
July 4, 2022 Updated: July 4, 2022 10:15 PM
Electra fire burns in Amador County on July 4, 2022.
Forest fire alert / Brochure
Electra’s fire in Amador County erupted about 1,000 acres within hours after it erupted Monday afternoon, sending a huge pyrocumulus cloud that can be seen as far away as Sacramento.
Shortly before 5 p.m., Cal Fire estimated the forest fire at “approximately 75 acres burning at a dangerous rate of spreading to dry grass in the North Fork of the Mokelumne.” By 7:30 p.m., he already had 959 acres without restraint. The cause of the fire is unknown, but it is believed to have started near Electra Road and Highway 49. At the moment, there are mandatory evacuations east of the Mokelumne Hill area, but conditions can change quickly. Check out the evacuation map here for the latest information, or call or text Amador Evacuation Teams at 1-209-419-2000. First responders went door-to-door within a two-mile radius of Lake Tabeau to let people know they had to leave immediately.
You can see a map of the Electra Fire here:
To complicate matters, the fire burns near a PG&E station along Electra Road. The PG&E outage map shows that thousands of customers throughout Amador and neighboring Calaveras County are now without electricity. According to KCRA, about 100 people are taking refuge at PG&E facilities, which housed people who were recreating in Box Beach along the Mokelumne River when the fire broke out. The Mokelumne River watershed supplies water to the East Bay Municipal Utilities District and provides drinking water to 1.4 million customers in the Bay Area.
“The steep and rugged terrain makes access to the ground difficult, but firefighters make access to it,” Cal Fire said in its incident report in the evening. According to reports, first responders are also working to clean up felled trees and debris to reach PG&E facilities on Electra Road; its occupants are not in immediate danger.
Intel 12 from OCFA at #ElectraFire Amador County. The fire is mapped at 390 acres at 5:06 p.m. pic.twitter.com/fVzbCJ0cMA
– FIRIS (@FIRIS) July 5, 2022
Evacuees can head to Italian Picnic Grounds at 581 Highway 49 in Sutter Creek or San Andreas City Hall at 24 Church Hill Rd. in Sant Andreu. If you have small or large animals, go to the Amador County Fairgrounds. The two directions of State Route 26 from Buckeye Lane to Lower Dorray Road are closed until further notice, Caltrans said.
You can control the fire on AlertWildfire’s live streaming cameras here.
Electra fire burns in Amador County on July 4, 2022.
Forest fire alert / Brochure
Katie Dowd is the managing editor of SFGATE.