Forest Service Advisory Information

Contact:  Incident Information, Yvonne Jones & Ann Westling
Phone: (530) 367-6550

September 7, 2006

(Tahoe N.F.)  A community briefing was held today in the town of Michigan Bluffwhere area residents were strongly advised to evacuate.  The Placer County Sheriff is recommending that residents of the Baker Ranch and Michigan Bluff area, east of Foresthill, evacuate their homes.  An evacuation center has been opened at the Foresthill Memorial Hall. 

Firefighters continue fire suppression efforts on the Ralston Fire, approximately 7 miles east of Foresthill, CA.   The cause of the fire is under investigation.  The origin has been inaccessible due to active fire behavior and heavy smoke.  Interviews are being conducted.  Mosquito Ridge Road has been closed from the town of Foresthillto Robinson Flat Road, to both the public and firefighters due to a rock slide.   The fire spotted over the Middle Fork of the AmericanRiverand is now burning on the Eldora do National Forest.   

A community briefing has been scheduled for Friday September 8, 2006at the ForesthillMiddle SchoolGymnasium for 7 pm.

Firefighting resources are being stretched thin across the country. Additional resources have been ordered but will be difficult to acquire.   Difficult access, extremely steep slopes, very dry fuel conditions and the potential for extreme fire behavior have made line construction efforts challenging.      

For more information about smoke and area closures, visit the Tahoe National Forest website at: www.fs.fed.us/r5/Tahoe.  

Total Area Involved : 1900 acres, 0% contained.

Expected Containment Date: 9/18/2006

Resources Committed:  12 handcrews, 3 helicopters, and available air tankers, 21 engines, 5 dozers, and 6 water tenders. 

Additional information about the Ralston Fire can be obtained at (530) 367-6550, (530) 367-6551, (530) 367-6552: www.inciweb.org.