Auburn Bridge Fire 75% contained; mop-up efforts continue

CAL FIRE reported containment of the Bridge Fire in Auburn at 75 percent as of Friday morning. The fire ignited just before 1 p.m. Aug. 5 in the Confluence around or under the Foresthill Bridge. Acreage burned has been held at 411 since Monday afternoon. With thunderstorms affecting the foothills Thursday night, CAL FIRE Public Information Officer Mary Eldridge said officials were "absolutely" worried about lightning. Eldridge confirmed there were 17 reports of lightning strikes throughout the night, but none were reported within the Bridge Fire area Friday morning. Eldridge said the focus for the past few days was clean-up, inclusive of putting out hot spots and strengthening the line. Eldridge confirmed that was also the plan for Friday's efforts. "They need to see what's out there because with all the lightning strikes there very well may be some new starts within that perimeter," she said. Crews have also been bringing in hose off the line. According to Eldridge, rain can make issues for flooding, so crews do repair or "cut the line the opposite way so it runs back into vegetation so that we don't have water runoff and we don't have mudslides." No structures have been threatened, and one firefighter sustained a minor heat-related injury during the initial attack. Full containment of the Bridge Fire is anticipated Aug. 15. After igniting, the Bridge Fire scorched 250 acres by 8:30 p.m. Sunday, and CAL FIRE NEU/Placer County Fire Chief Brian Estes said, "It's still spotting out in front of us." Fewer than 500 people total were evacuated, mostly visitors in the Confluence, Upper Lake and Lower Lake day-use areas and Lower Clementine Road, according to Estes. No structures were threatened, and Foresthill remained safe, though Foresthill Road was closed until Monday afternoon, reopening with a 25-mph speed limit, Estes said. Estes described the area of the fire as rugged, rocky terrain defined by canyons. The Bridge Fire included the North Fork and Lake Clementine on one side and the Middle Fork on the other side, with grass, brush and scrub oak that includes timber on the upper end. "It's just fire country in California," he said. "It's that kind of fuel bed that's very receptive to spot fires." The initial attack Sunday afternoon saw crews battle the Bridge Fire with nine fixed-wing air tankers dropping retardant to slow and steer the course of the fire while five helicopters acted as a suppression agent with water, doing a dip-and-dunk routine from the Confluence to smoky areas on the hill. Estes said during his initial report Sunday afternoon arson and fire investigators were around the point of origin, but there was no immediate cause for the fire that climbed the hill from the Confluence to the south side of Foresthill Road, then jumped the road and proceeded to burn on both sides.