An update of the Airola Fire in Calaveras County was released by that county’s Office of Emergency Services at mid-afternoon Thursday, Aug. 26.

Calaveras OES has activated an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for the Airola Fire, which started near the Parrot’s Ferry Bridge on the Calaveras County side of the North Fork of the Stanislaus River at approximately 2:59 p.m., August 25, 2021. The fire made a hard run up slope from the river, and is currently estimated to be 710 acres with 10 percent containment.

The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation order for Parrot’s Ferry from the southern county line to Highway 4 (including portions of Vallecito), extending east to the Camp Nine Area, and extending west to the Redhill Road area. An evacuation warning was issued for areas north and east of the mandatory evacuation area, extending from near Grant Lane and Highway 4 to the north, Coyote Creek Road to the west and Pennsylvania Gulch to the east. As of this update, the Calaveras Alert system sent notifications to 693 contacts, and of those contacts, 305 have confirmed receiving the message. Approximately 80 residents are in the mandatory evacuation area.

Calaveras County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) and the American Red Cross (ARC) have set up a Shelter in Angels Camp at Mark Twain Elementary School and a Temporary Evacuation Point (TEP) in Arnold at the Independence Hall. Calaveras County Animal Services has established an Animal Evacuation Center at the Calaveras County Animal Services Shelter for small animals in San Andreas and the Frogtown Fairgrounds for large animals in Angels Camp.

In addition, Calaveras OES has been in contact with Utica Water and CCWD regarding critical water infrastructure potentially threatened by this incident, and continue to partner to ensure the critical infrastructure is protected.

Also a grass fire along Highway 108 near Sonora has also prompted some evacuations and road closures in that area. Known as the Washington Fire, the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office reported the fire was at 80-plus acres and was burning in two separate locations. Authorities said fire crews from both Modesto Fire and Stanislaus Consolidated were dispatched to provide mutual aid.