Fire near I-80 and Lincoln Way prompts mandatory evacuations at Auburn condominium complex

Officials had to evacuate properties along Lincoln Way on Monday after a brush fire off Interstate 80 eastbound threatened the Auburn Gardens area. The Auburn Police Department issued a mandatory evacuation order for residences at Auburn Woods Townhomes near the fire at Lincoln Way and Russell Road. The fire was eventually reduced to a fire advisory, according to Sgt. Bryan Morrison. Using an electronic emergency alert system, residents from the area were notified about the evacuation. The 2.1-acre fire was under control as of about 11 a.m., officials at the police department reported, but spot fires were still being attended to. Three spot fires were extinguished, Morrison said. One was about a quarter-mile from the main fire, and another between a housing unit and the swimming pool at Auburn Woods 2. "When we have winds and dry conditions, the winds take the embers and deliver them outside the location of the fire," he said, adding the many responding agencies, already battling wind and temperature in the 90s before noon, would "keep bodies in the area" to watch for more hot spots. Responding agencies included Auburn Fire Department, Cal Fire NEU, Newcastle Fire District, Auburn Police Department, Placer County Sheriff's Office and State Parks. "Managing fires in our high-risk mountain community can quickly turn catastrophic," Auburn Police Department officials said. "Increased personnel is essential to ensuring public safety and preservation of life and property." Morrison said the cause of the vegetation fire was unknown. Several residents reported smelling smoke and going outside to investigate the fire that started on a steep slope just off I-80 and charred a small patch on the I-80 side of the freeway. That included Mike Price, president of Auburn Woods 1, who said he smelled smoked and "saw flames by the interstate." The area ablaze included trees, blackberry bushes and dry brush. A redwood caught fire by Auburn Woods 2, according to Bobbi Obenchain, manager of Auburn Woods 2. "It had to have been embers," she said between fielding calls. "How scary is that?" Meanwhile, a flock of ducks seemed content to continue relaxing on the surface of an adjacent pond. A contractor working a job on the grounds turned on the sprinkler system after the fire started, Obenchain said. And condo owners took precautions by hosing down their patios and areas behind their residences. Michelle Meier was waiting for a ride on a curb on Lincoln Way with her cats, Bella and Maggie, after leaving her Auburn Woods 1 residence. "I saw it. I was (thinking), 'Where is all this smoke?' " she said. "I thought, 'That's really close.' I went outside and saw the neighbors. A Sheriff's deputy came and evacuated us."