Busy July Fourth For Firefighters

Mother Lode firefighters and emergency crews kept very busy on the Fourth.

Fire officials say they answered 100 calls yesterday alone. That includes fires, medical calls and illegal fireworks investigations. CDF County fire headquarters had four dispatchers on duty yesterday. One dispatcher said that it was so busy it was… “just nuts.”

Last year on the Fourth of July, area fire crews ran 72 calls.

Around 9:30 a.m. yesterday firefighters battled a 3-arce blaze off Highway 108 and Via Esta. Still no cause for that fire.

Kids playing with matches stated an small grass fire on Chipmunk Road in Soulsbyville just before 12:30 yesterday afternoon. Firefighters got that quickly handled.

One acre of grass burnt on the south side of Woodard Reservoir near Oakdale yesterday evening around 5:30 p.m. That fire was caused by four youths playing with fireworks.

A vehicle fire on Highway 132 at Lake Road west of La Grange. Firefighters and aircraft were sent to that fire just before 7 p.m. last night. The blaze It completely destroyed the vehicle but flames did not burn into the surrounding grass.

Later 2-acres of grass was blackened at 28 mile road and Dorsey near the Woodard Reservoir. That fire called in at 10:30 p.m. last night.

Residents in the area helped extinguish a small grass fire in the Sequoia Woods Mobile Home Park in Valley Springs last night at 5:40 p.m..

Firefighters also had to hose down two Dumpster fires last night as well: One at 9:20 p.m. at Blue Oaks Camp and the other around 10 p.m. at Utica Park in Angels Camp.