News
ENLARGE
Ted Kluger was on high alert at his Mark Court property in French Corral late Monday afternoon, keeping an eye out for shifting winds — and for looters taking advantage of residences deserted by homeowners fleeing the Yuba Fire.
The fire burned right up to the edge of his acreage off Troost Trail, Kluger said, and he praised the firefighters who battled the flames.
“My hat's off to them,” Kluger said. “I can't thank them enough.”
Kluger and his family were among 277 families in Nevada County who evacuated from their homes in the French Corral area over the weekend as a precaution before the advancing Yuba Fire, which jumped the Yuba River on Saturday afternoon.
Precautionary evacuations in the area were lifted on Monday, along with some mandatory evacuations in the Dobbins area in Yuba County, Calfire reported.
The Yuba Fire grew to 3,582 acres Monday, but milder-than-expected winds and additional crews and equipment meant firefighters gained 30 percent containment, Calfire spokeswoman Jo-Ann Cartoscelli said late Monday.
Their battle has concentrated on the area north of Troost Trail, where flames moved up the drainage in a northeasterly direction, Cartoscelli said. Mild winds have allowed helicopters to come in and make drops.
“It was terrain-driven, not wind-driven (on Monday). The wind was pretty mild, so the fire's just moving up the drainage” consuming fuel in its path, she said.
Steep terrain makes it difficult to get equipment into that area to cut fire lines quickly, she added.
“It's very rocky up there, so they can't put a lot of equipment in,” Cartoscelli said. “They have to do it by hand.”
As fires elsewhere in the state are being contained, those crews and equipment are being reassigned to the Yuba Fire, Cartoscelli said.
All day, residents of the area played a waiting game as fire crews worked to get ahead of the fire, which continued to push up the middle fork of the Yuba River in steep and mostly inaccessible canyons.
“It's very frightening,” said Jan Murray, who owns 300 acres on Sweetland Road near North San Juan with her husband, Bill. “We're not afraid of earthquakes around here. We're afraid of flames.”
Bill Murray spent Sunday clearing their acreage, she said. They also bought a 1,100-gallon water tank with a pump and a hose.
Kluger's family, including his wife and three young children, had been vacationing from the Bay Area at their property off Pleasant Valley Road.
“It's been pretty scary,” Kluger said. “The kids were a little freaked out.”
After being evacuated Saturday, Kluger's family returned to the Bay Area. But he came back to Nevada County Monday to take stock of the property.
“Everything's covered with fire retardant,” he laughed.
Kluger planned to stick around as long as he could.
“It looks like they've got it well in hand,” he said. “But the winds could shift.”
Early Monday afternoon, fire crews briefly staged at Rices Crossing and Pleasant Valley Road.
“We're trying to find where the fire is,” said CalFire Capt. Don Watt.
“The weather holds the smoke in the valleys, and it's so deep in smoke, it's hard to see. The fire is slowly chunking up the river, and we're trying to get ahead of it,” Watt said.
The South Yuba River State Park at Bridgeport was eerily quiet, with the parking lot filled with firefighters waiting to be deployed. Up in North San Juan, the eateries were doing a brisk business.
“Lots of firefighters have been coming in and grabbing a pizza in their downtime and hydrating,” said 49er Pizza employee Jessica Nis.
Late Monday afternoon, bull dozers and hand crews were working to cut fire lines south of the Yuba River at Rolleys Point, aiming to contain the fire north of the Birchville area and Pleasant Valley Road.
Crews from Roseville Fire Department were unloading water and bags of ice at a safety zone on Troost Trail.
Off Mark Court, exhausted firefighters napped on the ground after working a 24-hour shift.
“We were here the night before last,” said Riverside County firefighter Bill Bryant, surveying the distant plume of smoke in the canyon below with fellow firefighter Jerry Stoltz. “We'll see what happens tonight.”
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
The fire burned right up to the edge of his acreage off Troost Trail, Kluger said, and he praised the firefighters who battled the flames.
“My hat's off to them,” Kluger said. “I can't thank them enough.”
Kluger and his family were among 277 families in Nevada County who evacuated from their homes in the French Corral area over the weekend as a precaution before the advancing Yuba Fire, which jumped the Yuba River on Saturday afternoon.
Precautionary evacuations in the area were lifted on Monday, along with some mandatory evacuations in the Dobbins area in Yuba County, Calfire reported.
The Yuba Fire grew to 3,582 acres Monday, but milder-than-expected winds and additional crews and equipment meant firefighters gained 30 percent containment, Calfire spokeswoman Jo-Ann Cartoscelli said late Monday.
Their battle has concentrated on the area north of Troost Trail, where flames moved up the drainage in a northeasterly direction, Cartoscelli said. Mild winds have allowed helicopters to come in and make drops.
“It was terrain-driven, not wind-driven (on Monday). The wind was pretty mild, so the fire's just moving up the drainage” consuming fuel in its path, she said.
Steep terrain makes it difficult to get equipment into that area to cut fire lines quickly, she added.
“It's very rocky up there, so they can't put a lot of equipment in,” Cartoscelli said. “They have to do it by hand.”
As fires elsewhere in the state are being contained, those crews and equipment are being reassigned to the Yuba Fire, Cartoscelli said.
All day, residents of the area played a waiting game as fire crews worked to get ahead of the fire, which continued to push up the middle fork of the Yuba River in steep and mostly inaccessible canyons.
“It's very frightening,” said Jan Murray, who owns 300 acres on Sweetland Road near North San Juan with her husband, Bill. “We're not afraid of earthquakes around here. We're afraid of flames.”
Bill Murray spent Sunday clearing their acreage, she said. They also bought a 1,100-gallon water tank with a pump and a hose.
Kluger's family, including his wife and three young children, had been vacationing from the Bay Area at their property off Pleasant Valley Road.
“It's been pretty scary,” Kluger said. “The kids were a little freaked out.”
After being evacuated Saturday, Kluger's family returned to the Bay Area. But he came back to Nevada County Monday to take stock of the property.
“Everything's covered with fire retardant,” he laughed.
Kluger planned to stick around as long as he could.
“It looks like they've got it well in hand,” he said. “But the winds could shift.”
Early Monday afternoon, fire crews briefly staged at Rices Crossing and Pleasant Valley Road.
“We're trying to find where the fire is,” said CalFire Capt. Don Watt.
“The weather holds the smoke in the valleys, and it's so deep in smoke, it's hard to see. The fire is slowly chunking up the river, and we're trying to get ahead of it,” Watt said.
The South Yuba River State Park at Bridgeport was eerily quiet, with the parking lot filled with firefighters waiting to be deployed. Up in North San Juan, the eateries were doing a brisk business.
“Lots of firefighters have been coming in and grabbing a pizza in their downtime and hydrating,” said 49er Pizza employee Jessica Nis.
Late Monday afternoon, bull dozers and hand crews were working to cut fire lines south of the Yuba River at Rolleys Point, aiming to contain the fire north of the Birchville area and Pleasant Valley Road.
Crews from Roseville Fire Department were unloading water and bags of ice at a safety zone on Troost Trail.
Off Mark Court, exhausted firefighters napped on the ground after working a 24-hour shift.
“We were here the night before last,” said Riverside County firefighter Bill Bryant, surveying the distant plume of smoke in the canyon below with fellow firefighter Jerry Stoltz. “We'll see what happens tonight.”
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
