San Andreas, CA — In less than a day’s time four fires struck the Mother Lode leaving one elderly woman dead.
The initial Wednesday fire occured at 3:30pm on Jaquima in the Copperopolis area. Five acres were burned. The fire was controlled at 7pm. Equipment was determined to be the cause of this fire. Response included eight CAL Fire engines, one dozer and two hand crews. Copperopolis Fire supplied two engines with a water tender coming from San Andreas Fire.
At approximately 9pm a large semi-truck carrying asphalt for the Hwy 49 overlay project caught fire on Rawhide Rd. near Omega Mine. The Tuolumne County Fire Department supplied one engine and one water tender while Sonora City Fire Department sent one engine. The fire was controlled at 9:50.
At 9:20pm a 911 call was received regarding a structure fire on South Fork Rd. approximately two miles from downtown Twain Harte. Passersby rescued the middle age son of a woman who perished following an explosion. CAL Fire supplied three engines, the Tuolumne County Fire Department; four engines, three water tenders and one breathing support and Twain Harte Fire added one engine to the effort. The fire was controlled shortly after midnight. Cause of the fire is under investigation.
At one o’clock this morning two structures were destroyed by fire on Morado Circle in Copperopolis. One civilian had to be life flighted to the U.C. Davis Medical Center Burn Unit. CAL Fire responded with six engines, Copperopolis Fire added four engines and Altaville-Melones supplied a water tender. Cause of this fire remains under investigation.
The preceeding information was supplied by CAL Fire Communications Operator Jim DeVoll from the Emergency Command Center in San Andreas.
Written by bill.johnson@mlode.com
This post was last modified on 09/10/2009 6:24 am