WALL: 5,400 structures still listed as threatened by blaze
public information officer. “From the air, we have fixed wing aircraft and rotor aircraft making drops and on the ground, we have dozers, hand crews and strike teams working in remote areas to cut fire lines.”
He said the weather makes working amid the fire more challenging.
“With temperatures between 97 to 100 degrees, humidity between 18-20 percent and some wind, it’s still a concern for us,” Brocchini said.
The cause of the blaze, which started near Chinese Wall Road north of Bangor, is under investigation with 5,400 structures still threatened.
Brocchini said law enforcement officials have been evacuating area residents over the last few days. In some areas, evacuation orders have been downgraded.
“We evacuate for safety, and local law enforcement have been helpful in assisting in the effort,” Brocchini said. “We understand this is difficult for residents and we’re trying to get them back to their homes, once it’s safe enough to do so.”
As of Monday night, there were 1,696 fire personnel on the scene, 181 fire engines, 42 fire crews, 28 dozers, 16 water tenders as well as air tankers and helicopters.
Brownsville residents, who are a short distance from the fire, got quite a scare over the weekend.
“We saw all the smoke from here,” said Krystal Del Bono, who works at the Gold Eagle Market in town. ”People said their cars were covered in ash.”
She wasn’t working at the time of the fire, but a co-worker contacted her to alert her about the news.
“An employee called and asked if all the ashes were bad and I said, ‘ yes, they’re bad because they can start other fires,’” Del Bono said.
Del Bono, who has worked at the market for 11 years, said the store is a hub for information in town, especially in an emergency.
“I printed out all the information from the CalFire website and posted it at the market for people to see,” she said. “It helped people find out where the fire was, how many acres it was, how much it was contained and how close it was coming to Brownsville.”
She said it’s unfortunate that it takes an emergency to bring the community together.
“It’s sad that it takes an evacuation to bring everybody together, but that’s the time to do it,” Del Bono said. “When the Oroville Dam situation was happening, we stayed open two extra hours.”
About 800 residents lost power from fire-damaged poles or lines that were de-energized by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for firefighter safety.
“CalFire gave PG&E permission to access more of the burn area so crews can replace about 35 burned poles and power lines to restore power to 288 homes in and near the Wall Fire,” said Paul Moreno, spokesman with PG&E.
About 50 PG&E personnel are replacing burned poles near Forbestown Road and Olive Highway, with the remainder being replaced once fire areas can be safely accessed.
Over the weekend, PG&E crews pre-treated more than 400 wooden poles with fire retardant and re-energized areas once it was safe to do so.