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Butte Fire explodes — Containment still 10% (Includes first-hand account)

The Butte Fire has expanded as reported by Cal Fire and several sources in the area. The fire which started yesterday at 2:26 p.m. grew to well over 4000 acres in 24 hours. The latest update from Cal Fire as of tonight at 6:30 p.m. is 14,700 acres, or roughly 23 square miles.

Mandatory evacuations have been expanded to include: (From Cal Fire)
(Amador County) Canyon View, Fig Tree Lane, and Ponderosa Way; The Town of Pine Grove to include all areas South of Hwy 88 at Ranch Road and East of West Clinton and East Bird Road, Sierra Lane, Thadeus Court, Center Street;
In Calaveras County: SR 26 from Hwy 49 to Railroad Flat to include all sides of the street; Jesus Maria from Hwy 26 to Railroad Flat to include all sides of the streets North of Jesus Maria and South to Doster Rd

Evacuation warnings have been posted for the town of Mokelumne Hill, except for Easy Bird Road, Sierra Lane, Thadeus Court, Center Street which have a mandatory evacuation notice.
805 fire personnel are now working the fire along with numerous aircraft, helicopters, dozers and 24 fire crews.

The view from Mokelumne Hill earlier today, 9-10-15

So far there are only six confirmed structure losses, along with two outbuildings. There are however reports (unofficial) that parts of the town of Rail Road Flat are in an active fire zone, and the town of Mountain Ranch is being evacuated.
Those reports are coming from residents living in or near the area in communication via Facebook and cellphone when the cell towers are working. Some cell towers in the area are of course no longer functioning after being involved in active fire zones.
A link to Enplan.com is here. The website shows the extent of the fire along with the towns involved. Patience is a virtue, excess site traffic can make the link slow to load. The FM radio station KPCC also has a nicely designed fire tracker with excellent graphics and information.

The city of Jackson was without power and Internet connectivity throughout most of today. Areas of the town of Pine Grove lost power yesterday, which has still not been restored. Utility personnel don’t have access to some of the areas due to active fire suppression efforts and/or fire activity in the area.

Ash fall continues to blanket Amador, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties as far south as the city of Sonora. Health officials in the Tri-County continue to warn those with respiratory issues to remain indoors as much as possible and limit exertion outside.

9-11-15 0745 a.m. PST:
As of this morning both an expanded fire size is available and additional evacuation requirements in the area.
Cal Fire reports the acreage more than doubled last night to 31,974 acres. Also listed at the Cal Fire web site are additional Mandatory Evacuation notices.
Additional Mandatory Evacuations are as follows:

(Calaveras County) Jesus Maria from Hwy SR 26 to Railroad Flat to include all side streets North of Jesus Maria and South to Doster Road / West Murray Creek Road and East of Hawver Road; Ridge Rd North to SR 26, Associated Office, Woodhouse Mine with Railroad Flat as Eastern Boundary; Hawver Road at Gold Strike East to Doster Rd.; Whiskey Slide Rd North of Mountain Ranch Rd to Jesus Maria / Whiskey Slide East to Railroad Flat Rd.

Additional Evacuation Warnings are as follows:

(Calaveras County) Town of Mountain Ranch South of Mountain Ranch Rd and Alpine Areas of Mountain Ranch; Sierra Vista Lookout Rd., West Murray Creek Rd. to Doster Rd., Murray Dale Lane (Entire Road); Leonard Rd Subdivision

Additional Road Closures are as follows:

(Calaveras County) Railroad Flat at Sheep Ranch Rd.; Mountain Ranch at Whiskey Slide; Independence and Railroad Flat.

The fire is by all reports from residents in the area, out of control. Firefighters are making a stand at Moke Hill today trying to save the town, it will be a very difficult task due to the temperatures, humidity and the down slope morning breeze which runs through those canyons nearly every day.
The county seat of Calaveras is San Andreas, and it is itself under threat of being burnt to the ground, requiring not much more than a stronger wind to push the fire faster in the direction it is already headed.

Ash fall overnight and this morning has continued to grow heavier, with vehicles, streets and homes being dusted by the ash fall.
The city of Sonora in Tuolumne county is experiencing internet outages along with some problems in cell phone coverage. This reporter can state “It isn’t pretty out here right now” There are a lot of citizens who are very worried they have either already lost their home or will lose it soon.

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