King Fire Mandatory Evacuation Update 09/17/14 @ 1500 hours

This is an update from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office regarding the evacuation status of the following areas.

Mandatory Evacuation: Volcanoville, Quintette, Blodgett, Upper Ice House: as of 09/17 @ 1500 hrs

Bear Foot Road, Bear State Road, Blodgett Forest Road, Bojac Court, Bootjack Mine Road, Bottle Hill (east end one mile north of Wentworth Springs), Carey Ave, Cassill Mine Road, Cecil Lane, Cedar Cable Road, Chiquita Bypass, Christmas Tree Lane, Country Road, Coyote Court, Ditch Camp Road, Dry Lakes Trail, Dusty Camp Road, El Bosque, Garden Tower Lane, Harmony Lane, Haven Ridge Road, Helix Flat Avenue, Hobby Horse Lane, Homewood Drive, Horse Power Drive, Kentucky Flat Road, Lake Avenue, Little Silver Road, Lodgepole Lane, Lofty Peak Lane, Logging Road, Loop Cutoff Road, Loop Road, Merkel Drive, Middle Loop Road, Midway Loop Road, Mount Cedar Road, Narrow Way, Onion Valley Road, Oso Mesa Court, Otter Creek Road, Our Place Road, Patchwork Lane, Paymaster Mine Road, Peavine Point Road, Piolet Creek Road, Plum Creek Road, Point Lane, Quintette Court, Ringtail Place, Ringtail Road, Robs Cabin Trail, Rock Creek Road (one mile south from Wentworth Springs), Rubicon Road, Sand Mountain Boulevard, Shotgun Lane, Sleigh Bell, Snowy Way, South Creek Road, South Fork Trail, Spring Tunnel Mine Road, Star Lane Thumper Lane, Stickerbrush Trail, Sunset Peak Lane, Tall Timber Road, Tipton Hill Court, Tipton Hill Road, Tinsel Trail, Tricometric Trail, Trinity Trail, Tunnel Hill Loop Road, Tunnel Hill Loop, Tunnel HIll Road, Un Road, Volcanoville Road, Wentworth Springs Road (east of Balderston Road), White Fir Road, Wild Horse Trail, Wolfridge Road, Woodpecker Road, Yuletide Way, 11 Pines Road, 12 Mile Court, 12 Mile Road.

The following information is released jointly by the Air Quality Managment District and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          

September 17, 2014

Wildfire Smoke Advisory

 The King Fire is creating smoky conditions in some areas of El Dorado County, prompting the County Air Quality Management District (AQMD) and Health and Human Services Agency – Public Health Division to issue an advisory.  Officials expect that El Dorado County may continue to be affected on an intermittent basis for quite some time. Smoke conditions can vary a great deal in El Dorado County because of the terrain, wind direction and weather.

Fine particles in smoke can cause health issues, especially for children, older people or those with respiratory problems.  “If you see or smell smoke, you should limit outdoor activity,” said Dave Johnston, El Dorado County Air Pollution Control Officer.  Residents who see or smell smoke should consider taking the following precautions:

• Healthy people should delay strenuous outdoor exercise until the smoke has cleared.
• Children and older people should consider avoiding outdoor activity, especially prolonged outdoor exercise.
• People with health-related illnesses, particularly those with respiratory problems, should stay indoors.
• Windows and doors should stay closed as much as possible. Use the recycle or re-circulate mode on the air conditioner in your home and car.
• Avoid using non-HEPA paper face mask filters that do not filter extra fine particles.
• Keep airways moist by drinking lots of water.

Wildfire smoke can cause coughing, watery and itchy eyes, and difficulty breathing. People with questionable or severe symptoms should seek medical advice.  AQMD has placed air monitoring equipment in the following locations:  Pinewood Elementary School in Pollock Pines, El Dorado County Fire Department in Camino, Garden Valley Fire Department in Garden Valley and South Tahoe High School in South Lake Tahoe.  Monitoring data is being collected. Air Quality Index (AQI) values derived from this data can be viewed at AirNow’s Wildfires and Air Quality Page: http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=topics.smoke_wildfires.  Currently, only the monitor in Camino is visible here, but the site administrators are working on getting all four monitors onto the site.  Monitoring information is also available at http://californiasmokeinfo.blogspot.com.

Additionally, when there is smoke in the air, the smoke visibility index (below) can help people assess the air quality based on visibility in their area.  To assess visibility:

• Face away from the sun. Determine visibility range by looking for targets that are at known distances (miles).
• The visibility range is the distance at which high-contrast objects disappear.
• After determining visibility in miles, use the following Wildfire Smoke Visibility Index to assess air quality.

For more information about air quality issues in El Dorado County, visit AQMD’s website at www.edcgov.us/airqualitymanagement.  For updates on local fires, contact the CAL FIRE public information line at (530) 647-5218.                #  #  #

King Fire: Current Road Closures 9/17/2014 @ 1300

• Ice House Road from Highway 50 to Wentworth Springs Road
• Wentworth Springs Road for Quintette to Ice House Road
• White Meadows @ Ice House Road
• Rock  Creek @ 193
• Mosquito Road @ Union Ridge Road
• Highway 50 (Sly Park to Union Ridge)
• Forebay @ Deep Haven – Residents only by EDSO
• Forebay @ Blair – Residents only by EDSO
• Canyon Edge @ Randolph Canyon – hard closure by CHP

Road Closures:

• Ice House Road from Highway 50 to Wentworth Springs
• Wentworth Springs from Quintette to Icehouse Road
• White Meadows @ Ice House Road
• Rock  Creek @ 193
• Mosquito Road @ Union Ridge Road
• Highway 50 (Sly Park to Union Ridge)
• Forebay @ Deep Haven – Residents only by EDSO
• Forebay @ Blair – Residents only by EDSO
• Canyon Edge @ Randolph Canyon – hard closure by CHP